July 3/20 15:35 pm - Sad News

Posted by Editoress on 07/3/20
 

We are very sorry to report that one of Canada's greatest Paralympians, Gary Longhi, passed away yesterday on his 56th birthday, by medically assisted suicide, after battling end stage cancer.

After almost losing his life in a motorcycle accident in 1983 that resulted in a three month coma and cerebral palsy-like brain damage, Gary began a long journey of recovery, remarkably attending the Seoul Paralympics in 1988, just five years after his accident. Seoul was the first of four Paralympic Games he attended.

At the Barcelona Games in 1992 he won a silver medal in the time trial, and four years later in Atlanta he won gold and bronze medals in the time trial and road race, respectively. At the 2000 Games in Sydney he was Canada's flag-bearer. He retired in 2001.

Gary was the first para athlete to be inducted into the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame, in 2017.