Three-time Paralympic Games medallist honoured before NHL game

Ten years following an accident with a SUV, Stuart McGregor was honoured on-ice during the national anthem at a recent Ottawa Senators home game as his running career winds down

The Ottawa Senators, a National Hockey League franchise, honoured Paralympian Stuart McGregor before its Dec. 14 game against the Los Angeles Kings as the Sens in School Teacher of the Month.

“It was such an honour to be on the ice for the national anthem, and the crowd, which included 150 of my own students, just got louder and louder, it was very touching,” McGregor, a physical education teacher at Ottawa Christian School, told Canadian Running on Friday.

Father and son moment

When asked who enjoyed the experience more between him and his son, McGregor replied, “It was a tie, he’s been a hockey player since he was two-years-old and I told him that with enough hard work that he might one day be in this position.”

McGregor figured the Senators would play a 30-second clip in his honour before the game, but the NHL franchise played a full five-minute feature.

“Over my running career, I’ve gone through so much; following the accident I’ve been so close to making major games and with my career coming to an end, this was an unforgettable gesture to tell my story,” McGregor told Canadian Running.

Nov. 6, 2005

In the span of eight years from 1996 to 2004, McGregor won three Paralympic medals, all by the ripe age of 26. But on the night of Nov. 6, 2005, McGregor and fellow Paralympian Jason Dunkerley were struck while crossing the street by a SUV.

McGregor required five reconstructive surgeries to repair a shattered lower leg and hundreds of physiotherapy sessions followed. In 2007, two years after the accident, McGregor finished fourth in the 800m and fifth in the 400m at the 2007 Rio Parapan American Games.

“I got close to where I once was but the accident took away the talent,” McGregor described to Canadian Running. “I have nerve damage in my toes, tendon damage in my knees and to this day continue to run with a limp.”

McGregor won silver in T13 1,500m at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, and bronze in the 800m at both the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney and 2004 Games in Athens.

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With less than 10-per-cent vision, McGregor competed in T13 events, classified for athletes with visual impairment who can recognize contours between two and six metres away. At the time of the accident, McGregor was three-tenths off the world record in the T13 800m.

Dunkerley too recovered from the accident to continue competing at a high-level most recently winning a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Toronto in the T11 5,000m.

As for how much running McGregor is doing these days, the three-time medallist is shutting things down and sticking to running recreationally with this September being the first time since 1992 that he won’t be training with the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club.

Running Influence

A physical education and homeroom teacher at Ottawa Christian School, as well as the team’s cross-country and track and field coach, McGregor’s running roots have become prevalent in his teaching.

“I use so many of the things I was taught when I was young, telling the students that ‘if I could do it, then you can too,'” added McGregor. “It’s amazing how they can be so inspired at a young age.”