Earle Connor

Earle Connor (born July 30, 1976) is a Canadian Paralympic amputee sprinter. Connor holds several athletics world records in the class of T42, or above-knee, amputee.

Earle Connor
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1976-07-30) July 30, 1976
Castlegar, British Columbia
Height173 cm (68 in) (2008)
Weight66 kg (146 lb) (2008)
Sport
Country Canada
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 m, 200 m, 400 m, long jump
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2008 Summer Paralympics: 100 m T42 – Gold

2000 Summer Paralympics: 100 m T42 – Gold

2000 Summer Paralympics: 200 m T42 – Silver
Personal best(s)60 m: 7.87 (2006, WR)

100 m: 12.08 (2008, WR)[1]
200 m: 26.40 (2006)

400 m: 1:07.32 (2006)

Biography

Early life

Earle Connor was born July 30, 1976 in Castlegar, British Columbia to Dave and Diane Connor. Because he was born without a left fibula, his left leg was amputated above-the-knee when he was 3 months old.[2] At the age of 9 months Earle was fitted with his first prosthetic leg.

Growing up in rural Saskatchewan, Connor played all available sports, excelling at hockey, tennis and baseball, and graduated from Rosthern Junior College. Connor was the first amputee ever drafted into the Canadian Junior Hockey system as a goaltender.

Paralympic career

Connor was inspired by watching television coverage of the 1996 Summer Paralympics to become an amputee sprinter with the goal of competing at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. At the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, he took gold in the 100-metre final, but finished second in the 200 metres when a misstep on the first corner cost him a few seconds.

He returned to the Paralympics in 2008, winning gold in the men's T42 100 m sprint and setting a new Paralympic record time of 12.32 seconds.[3]

Performance Enhancing Drug Suspensions

In 2004 he had tested positive for nandrolone and testosterone and received a two-year ban, which caused him to miss the 2004 Paralympic Games.[4]

In 2016 he tested positive for steroids for a second time in his career,[5] resulting in a ban from competition for four years by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport after nandrolone was found in a urine sample.[6]

Awards
  • 1997: Canadian Disabled Athlete of the Year (also won in 1998 and 1999)
  • 2000: inductee, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame *rescinded following positive drug tests[7]
  • 2004: award winner, Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability *rescinded following positive drug tests[8]

References
  1. "Earle Connor breaks 100m Amputee World Record… on his birthday". Canadian Paralympic Committee. 2008-07-30.
  2. Munroe, Dustin (2008-09-03). "Beijing gold rush". The Star Phoenix. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  3. Kingston, Gary (2008-09-14). "Paralympics: Redemption for Canada's Earle Connor as he cruises to sprinting gold". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  4. "2004 Suspension". Paralympic.org. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. "Two-time Paralympic gold medallist banned for four years after failing second drugs test of career". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  6. "Connor suspended for anti-doping rule violation". Paralympic.org. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. https://paralympic.ca/hall-fame-inductees
  8. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1036298/two-time-paralympic-gold-medallist-banned-for-four-years-after-failing-second-drugs-test-of-career
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