Jeff Adams

Jeffrey Adams (born November 15, 1970 in Mississauga, Ontario) is a Canadian Paralympian and a six-time world champion in wheelchair sports.

For other people with the same name, see Jeffrey Adams (disambiguation).

Jeff Adams
Personal information
Full nameJeffrey Adams
BornNovember 15, 1970 (1970-11-15) (age 50)
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
1996 Atlanta 800m T53
2000 Sydney 800m T53
2000 Sydney 1500m T53
1992 Barcelona 800m TW4
1992 Barcelona 4x400m relay TW3-TW4
1996 Atlanta 400m T53
2000 Sydney 400m T53
1988 Seoul 800m 5-6
1988 Seoul 1500m 5-6
1996 Atlanta 4x400m relay T52-T53
2000 Sydney 5000m T53
2000 Sydney 4x100m relay T52-T53
2004 Athens 400m T53

Competitive racing

Adams competed at six consecutive Summer Paralympics from 1988 to 2008, winning a total of three gold, four silver, and six bronze medals. At the 1988 Summer Paralympics he won two bronze medals, one in the 800m race and one in the 1500m race. Four years later at the Barcelona Games he won two silvers, one in the 800m race and one as part of the 4 × 400 m relay. At the 1996 Summer Paralympics he won gold in the 800 m, silver in the 400 m, and bronze in the 4×400 m relay. Four years later, at the Sydney games, he won five medals, a gold in the 800 m and 1500 m, a silver in the 400 m and a bronze in the 5000 m and 4x100 m. At the 2004 Paralympics he won a bronze in the 400 m race. Adams was coached by Peter Eriksson.

Post-competition

In 2002, Adams ascended the 1,776 steps of the CN Tower in a specially-designed wheelchair; in 2004, he climbed the Acropolis.

He is an inductee into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.[1]

In March 2010, he was a torchbearer during the 2010 Winter Paralympics torch relay.[2]

In 2012 Adams was part of the broadcast crew on Channel 4's coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.[3][4]

Adams is additionally a motivational speaker.[5]

In 2018, Adams was announced to be inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

Personal life

Adams underwent radiation therapy for cancer as a child, and aftermath of the treatment led to a spinal injury at age 9 that paralysed him.[7][8] After retiring from competition, Adams and business partner Christian Bagg co-launched Marvel Wheelchairs with Cervélo Cycles, producing adjustable wheelchairs for everyday use.[8] After Cervélo was unable to secure bridge financing for debt to suppliers, Marvel was taken over and unsuccessful attempts were made to sell it by Cervélo. Cervélo was taken over by PON,[9] and Adams and Bagg launched a new company making wheelchairs called ICON in 2010.[8] An appearance on the CBC reality show Dragons' Den led to a new partnership with a manufacturer, Multimatic, to produce the wheelchairs designed by ICON.[10][11]

Through much of his career, Adams lived in Brampton, Ontario.[12]

References
  1. "Jeff Adams". Ontario Heritage Trust. Ontario Heritage Trust. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. "March 5 - Toronto" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  3. Pitt-Brooke, Jack (3 September 2012). "Jack Pitt-Brooke: Instructive and inspirational – Channel 4 strike the Paralympic balance". The Independent. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  4. "LONDON 2012: Paralympic Games – Meet the C4 team". Sport On The Box. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  5. "Jeff Adams | Paralympian | World Champion". www.speakers.ca. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  6. Harrison, Doug (26 April 2018). "Leafs legend Dave Keon, Olympic great Alex Despatie headline Canada's Sports Hall of Fame newcomers | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. "Jeff Adams". Management. ICON Wheelchairs. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  8. Mourtada, Rasha (12 January 2012). "Canadian upstart reinvents its wheels". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. http://globalnews.ca/news/212978/dutch-conglomerate-pon-holdings-purchases-canadian-bike-company-cervelo-cycles/
  10. Howell, Trevor Scott. "Christian Bagg, Co-founder of Icon Wheelchairs". Your Face Here. Fast Forward Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  11. "New wheelchair called revolutionary". CBC.ca. 28 Feb 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  12. Keith Bolender, "Jeff Adams makes most of sport to defeat his physical disablility", Toronto Star, 2 May 1989, W14.
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