James Anseeuw (born September 16, 1959) is a Canadian Wheelchair curler. As the oldest Canadian Paralympic athlete, he helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.

James Anseeuw
Personal information
NicknameJamie Anseeuw
Born (1959-09-16) September 16, 1959 (age 65)
Oak Bluff, Manitoba, Canada
Sport
Country Canada
SportWheelchair curling
Turned pro2014
Medal record
Wheelchair curling
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 PyeongChang Mixed team

Early life

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Anseeuw was born on September 16, 1959, in Oak Bluff, Manitoba, Canada.[1]

Career

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In the 1990s, Anseeuw was a semi-professional snowmobile racer until he became paralyzed after a crash on March 27, 1999.[2][3] At the time of the accident, Anseeuw was team manager for the Flying Canucks and Arctic Cat's Canadian Racing Coordinator.[4] Arctic Cat began a trust fund in his name,[5] and mentee Blair Morgan began raising money for spinal cord research.[6]

In 2014, Anseeuw was convinced to try wheelchair curling by Dennis Thiessen.[7] He trained with the Assiniboine Curling Club and competed with Team Manitoba at the 2014 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, where they finished in first place.[8] Three years later, he again won gold with Team Manitoba at the 2017 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship.[9]

At the age of 58, Anseeuw was the oldest athlete selected to compete for Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.[10] The Canadian wheelchair curling team was eliminated in the semi-finals, which earned them a bronze medal.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Jamie Anseeuw" (PDF). curling.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Bell, Jason (December 15, 2002). "Spectacular crash, finishes thrill 4, 200 at Assiniboia Downs". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg. 
  3. ^ "Two Manitoba Snowmobilers hurt in Calgary race". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg. March 29, 1999. 
  4. ^ Castellanos, Vince (November 1999). "State of the sport: Snocross Who's hot to watch in 2000?". espn.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Jamie Anseeuw Trust Funds Established". amsnow.com. April 20, 1999. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Nowacki, Jon (November 30, 2008). "Duluth National Snocross: Paralyzed racer recounts his accident, recuperation". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "James Anseeuw". paralympic.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "MANITOBA WINS CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONSHIP". curling.ca. May 4, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "GOLD FOR MANITOBA AT CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP". curling.ca. April 30, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  10. ^ @Devin_Heroux (February 26, 2018). "Wheelchair curler James Anseeuw is the oldest Canadian athlete at 58 while Para hockey player James Dunn is the youngest at 17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Macdonell, Laurie (March 20, 2018). "TWO MANITOBAN'S PART OF BRONZE MEDAL PARALYMPIC CURLING TEAM". curlmanitoba.org. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
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