Michelle Stilwell
Michelle Stilwell (nee Bauknecht; born July 4, 1974) is a Canadian wheelchair racer and politician. She is the only female Paralympic athlete to win gold medals in two separate summer sport events. Stilwell was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a BC Liberal candidate for Parksville-Qualicum in the 2013 provincial election. She represented Canada at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, 2008 Summer Paralympics, and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Michelle Stilwell | |
|---|---|
Stilwell at the 2015 Parapan American Games | |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Parksville-Qualicum | |
| In office May 14, 2013 – September 21, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Cantelon |
| Succeeded by | Adam Walker |
| Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation of British Columbia | |
| In office February 2, 2015 – July 18, 2017 | |
| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Don McRae |
| Succeeded by | Shane Simpson |
| Parliamentary Secretary for Healthy Living and Seniors | |
| In office June 2013 – February 2, 2015 | |
| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 4, 1974 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Mark Stilwell (m. 1997) |
| Residence(s) | Parksville, British Columbia[1] |
| Sports career | |
| Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Weight | 51 kg (112 lb) |
| Disability class | T52 |
Medal record | |
Early life and education
Stilwell was born on July 4, 1974, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[1] While attending River East Collegiate, she broke her neck from a fall and became an incomplete quadriplegic.[2] After the accident, she competed in wheelchair basketball, through which she met her husband Mark at the 1996 National Championships in Montreal.[3] Stilwell eventually moved to Calgary where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Calgary in 1999.[1]
Paralympic career
Stilwell stayed in Calgary from 1997 until 2000 to train for the Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team.[3] She competed as a reserve for Team Canada at the 2000 Paralympic Games, where her team won a gold medal.[4] Afterwards, Stilwell, her husband Mark, and their newborn son moved to Vancouver Island.[5]
However, Stilwell was forced to forgo wheelchair basketball after undergoing surgery for a herniated brain stem.[6] Although was unable to compete at a national level, Stilwell continued to play basketball locally where she was spotted by Coach Peter Lawless, who convinced her to try for wheelchair racing.[5] Stilwell qualified for the 2008 Paralympic Games where she won two gold medals in the woman's T52 200m and 100m events.[7] This was followed by three gold medals (with World Championship records) and one silver at the 2011 World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.[8]
At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Stilwell defended her Paralympic gold medal in the women's 200m in 33.80 seconds, shattering her Games record by over two seconds.[9] Four days later, Stilwell captured a silver medal in the 100m after mishap caused her to fall behind Marieke Vervoort.[10] The following year, she competed in the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships and set a new world record in the women's T52 class 800 metres.[11]
In 2016, her last Paralympic Games, Stilwell earned a gold medal while also setting a Paralympics record during the T52 wheelchair 400 metres race, with a time of one minute and 5.42 seconds.[12] The following year, Stilwell announced her retirement from competitive sports[13] and was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.[14]
Stilwell was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.[15]
Political career
In 2013, Stilwell campaigned to become the BC Liberal candidate for Parksville-Qualicum in the 2013 provincial election.[16] She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and served as Caucus Chair and Parliamentary Secretary for Healthy Living and Seniors for two years before being sworn in as Minister for Social Development and Social Innovation.[17]
Stillwell was re-elected in 2017, but lost her seat in the 2020 election.
Electoral record
| 2020 British Columbia general election: Parksville-Qualicum | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Adam Walker | 13,207 | 42.00 | +13.34 | $6,991.73 | |||
| Liberal | Michelle Stilwell | 11,155 | 35.47 | −9.66 | $45,718.10 | |||
| Green | Rob Lyon | 5,227 | 16.62 | −8.82 | $2,772.94 | |||
| Conservative | Don Purdey | 1,404 | 4.46 | – | $1,413.44 | |||
| Independent | John St John | 454 | 1.44 | – | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes | 31,447 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[18][19] | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election: Parksville-Qualicum | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Michelle Stilwell | 13,604 | 45.13 | −5.00 | $53,948 | |||
| New Democratic | Sue Powell | 9,189 | 28.66 | −8.40 | $44,326 | |||
| Green | Glenn Sollitt | 8,157 | 25.44 | – | $10,490 | |||
| Refederation | Terry Hand | 245 | 0.77 | – | $0 | |||
| Total valid votes | 32,059 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 159 | 0.49 | −0.15 | |||||
| Turnout | 32,218 | 70.21 | +2.27 | |||||
| Registered voters | 45,891 | |||||||
| Source: Elections BC[20][21] | ||||||||
| 2013 British Columbia general election: Parksville-Qualicum | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Michelle Stilwell | 14518 | 50.13 | |||||
| New Democratic | Barry Avis | 10732 | 37.06 | |||||
| Conservative | David Bernard Coupland | 3710 | 12.81 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 28960 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 186 | 0.64 | ||||||
| Turnout | 29146 | 67.94 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[22] | ||||||||
References
- ^ a b c d "Michelle Stilwell". paralympic.ca. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Meet the 5 Paralympic athletes with ties to Manitoba". cbc.ca. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ a b Prest, Ashley (30 September 2008). "A Gift More Precious Than Gold". Winnipeg Free Press. Manitoba.
- ^ Vancouver Sun (31 May 2008). . Canada.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Canadian Paralympian Michelle Stilwell's toughest competition is herself". National Post. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Winnipeg-born athlete continues to overcome adversity". themanitoban.com. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Canadian track star Stilwell takes 2nd Paralympic gold". cbc.ca. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Clarke, James (10 February 2011). "Mikey returns with a handful of gold, silver". Parksville Qualicum Beach News. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Canada's Michelle Stilwell defends Paralympic title in T52 200-metre final". National Post. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Kingston, Gary (5 September 2012). "Canada's Michelle Stilwell sees silver lining in Paralympic wheelchair race result". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Kingston, Gary (25 July 2013). "MLA Michelle Stilwell sets world wheelchair record". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Dheensaw, Cleve (10 September 2016). "Michelle Stilwell wins 5th gold: 'It was the moment I was working for'". Times Colonist. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Michelle Stilwell announces retirement". athletics.ca. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Former Wheelchair Basketball Athlete Michelle Stilwell and Coach Tim Frick To Be Inducted into B.C. Sports Hall of Fame". wheelchairbasketball.ca. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Michelle (Bauknecht) Stilwell". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame - Honoured members database. Sport Manitoba. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Mason, Gary (23 April 2013). "Paralympic champ turned B.C. politician faces her toughest race yet". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Shaw, Rob (30 January 2015). "Rookie MLA tapped for cabinet as social development minister resigns". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
External links
- Michelle Stilwell at the International Paralympic Committee
- Michelle Stilwell at IPC.InfostradaSports.com
- Michelle Stilwell at the Canadian Paralympic Committee
- Official Wheelchair Racing Website