Go World: Team VISA’s Benoît Huot
Visa is currently sponsoring a handful of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls (and some who have become champions already) as they have done for the last 26 years. They have partnered with me to showcase members of their team like bronze medal-winners Brent Hayden of Mission and Emilie Heymans, and today’s feature moves on to the Paralympics with swimmer Benoît Huot.
He was born with a clubfoot and after years of surgery and physio, he gained partial use. Benoît started swimming competitively at age ten and catapulted to fame in 1998 when he won two gold and four silver medals at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships. He now holds more than three world records and has over over 40, spanning three Paralympic Games, three Commonwealth Games and four World Championships. [Paralympic.ca]
In the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, he added to his winnings three gold medals and three silver medals and eight more medals at the IPC World Championships in 2002 in Argentina. Benoît then won five gold medals and one silver at the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004, while setting three world records. In 2005, Benoît won six gold medals at the Disability Sport England Swimming Championships and finally a gold medal and one silver at the first Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. [BenoitHuot.com]
Benoît won 4 bronze medals at the Beijing Paralympic Games and said that it was one of the greatest experience of his life. Cheer him on in his freestyle swimming events during the London 2012 Paralympics August 29th to September 9th, 2012.
VISA Canada has offered up a $250 pre-paid gift card to one lucky Miss604 reader to celebrate Canadians cheering for Canadians. Here’s how how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment naming the Olympic or Paralympic sport you like to watch the most (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Continue to cheer on your Canadian athletes through Team VISA on Facebook and by using the tag #GoWorld on Twitter.
You can still enter to win on the Brent Hayden and Emilie Heymans posts as well. I am publishing one final post tomorrow and one winner will drawn from all entries on all Team VISA posts on Saturday, August 11 2012 at 12:00pm. This contest is open to all Canadians residents.
Update The winner is Shannon Mac!
108 Comments — Comments Are Closed
The Olympic sport I like to watch most is tennis.
Hockey, hands down. Then figure skating. And speed skating. And and and!
I watch swimming and diving the most.
I love watching swimming (and realise how technically poor my swimming skills are).
Soccer
Winter Olympics: hockey & figure skating
Summer Olympics: gymnastics
Winter Paralympics: Ice-sledge hockey
Summer Paralympics: No favourites yet 🙂
I enjoy watching the Olympic running events, like the 100m dash.
Curling, from the winter olympics.
Figure skating and gymnastics
Trampoline!
Can’t pick a favourite but I prefer to watch sports that don’t get much coverage outside of the Olympics. I’d like to watch rugby in this year’s Paralympics. Hope it gets on TV!
Volleyball!
I like watching hockey!
it is always the gymnastics that are my favorite.
Volleyball
For the Olympics, I like watching indoor volleyball; for Paralympics, it’s sledge hockey.
What sport don’t I love watching, but VBall (volleyball) is up there!
Hockey!
bronze medal womens soccer. after all that happened they kept their heads up and went for it. happy for them
To me the marquee event in the Summer has always been the 100 m. Still remember Donovan Bailey’s win, and love seeing Bolt make history
Favourite sports: Handball, handball, and of course, handball.
Gymnastics
Volleyball.
I love watching gymnastics and hockey!
Posted on twitter: https://twitter.com/freebreeluv/status/233670253157154818
Skiing in general, but the downhill is tops!
Hockey!
Gymnastics
Swimming
Hockey…of course!
swimming
volleyball
Swimming. So intense!
Skiing!
I love to watch the diving.
Track
I love to watch the swimming in the summer olympics
Diving is my favourite
My new favourite after today is Women’s Soccer!
Diving is so impressive!
Track and field – esp. the 100 metre race
Gymnastics!
I love any chance to watch soccer (men’s and women’s) – first Euro, now Olympics – I’m loving it!
Sprints.
I like the wheelchair basketball and absolutely was on the edge of my seat for the Women’s soccer this week. Christine Sinclair was/is amazing.
Hockey!
Diving
Whatever sport has Canada playing!
Diving
Swimming
Love the swimming, great sport!
tennis
100 metre race
swimming, running & gymnastics
Paralympic football 7 a side!
Tennis
All Athletics…especially the Men’s 100m
For the summer Olympics, I like watching the martial arts events – taekwondo or judo.
hockey for sure.
hockey
My favourite Olympic sport to watch is probably the rowing. It’s action packed and those athletes work HARD!
I enjoyed diving the most. You don’t get to see it often enough on tv, and it’s really easy to get into and be your own judge!
Soccer!
Hockey
In summer? Fencing! Winter? Hockey or ski cross.
I enjoy watching all the track events.
I’ve always loved watching the excitement of hockey the most.
Rowing!
Gymnastics
For the Summer Olympics, beach volleyball. For the Winter Olympics, hockey!
Rowing
Diving
Decathalon
Hockey!
Soccer and diving!
The Olympic sport I like to watch most is Synchronized Swimming!
Winter: hockey Summer: gymnastics
hockey
Diving!
Paralympic Basketball really does it for me!
I watch as much as I can fit in, but I like swimming and the decathlon above all else.
I love ice skating, especially dance and pairs.
Synchronized swimming!
Gymnastics! Such precision, flexibility and strength necessary. I truly admire their hard work.
Judo! Or Gymnastics! Fantastic!
I’ll be watching volleyball!
Diving!!!
Boccia!
Women’s weightlifting-what amazing strength! (definitely wouldn’t want to mess with these athletes)
i love watching gymnastics
Wrestling!!
would love to see 100m sprint in person!
the gymanstics and skating has always fascinated me
Diving and gymnastics
I love watching the gymnastics.
ksceviour at hotmail dot com
I love to watch the diving.
Swimming & syncronised-swimming 🙂
I love gymnastics. The men are so strong and the women can do so much.
For winter, Ice hockey. For summer, Rowing!
Gymnastics and swimming!
soccer
Hockey, swimming and gymnastics!
https://twitter.com/leanne_macg/status/234168954795479040
Tennis!
Speed skating in winter. track cycling in summer
Wrestling
Kayaking
figure skating