13 Facts About Eugene Reimer

Eugene "Gene" Reimer was a Canadian wheelchair Paralympic athlete who won 10 Paralympic medals and 50 Canadian and Pan-American medals from 1968 to 1980.

In 1972, Reimer became the first person with a disability to be named Canada's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year and to be inducted into the Order of Canada.

Eugene Reimer was born on 21 January 1940 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Eugene Reimer later moved to Abbotsford, British Columbia, where he lived with his two sons and daughter.

Eugene Reimer played for 19 years for the wheelchair basketball team Vancouver Cable Cars alongside Rick Hansen and Terry Fox, winning the 1979 National Championships.

Eugene Reimer participated in his first Paralympics Game in 1968 in Tel Aviv.

Eugene Reimer placed first at the Men's Club Throw B with a throw of 42.01 metres, beating the silver medalist by nearly 16 metres.

At the 1972 Paralympic Games in Heidelberg, West Germany, Eugene Reimer set the world record for the Men's Pentathlon 4 at 5141 points, one point more than the silver medalist.

Eugene Reimer set the world record for the Discus Throw 4, with a final width of 29.91 metres.

Eugene Reimer finished second in the Men's Pentathlon 4 with a score of 3295.

At his final Paralympic Game, in 1980 at Arnhem, Netherlands, Eugene Reimer was able to top the podium of the Men's Discus Throw B with a throw of 29.80 metres, beating the second-place finisher by 36 centimetres.

In 1972, Eugene Reimer became the first person with a disability to be named Canada's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year and he was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Eugene Reimer was the first disabled athlete to be awarded the Order Of Canada medal in 1974 for "his inspiring example to persons with disabilities".