With three Paralympic gold medals, Sonja Gaudet is the world’s most decorated wheelchair curler. She currently resides in Vernon with her husband Dan.
In 1997, as a young mother with two small children, Sonja fell off a horse and experienced a spinal cord injury which left her wheelchair-bound. However, she was determined to maintain the healthy lifestyle she had enjoyed before the accident, and turned to Rick Hansen with questions about adaptive sporting opportunities and raising children from a wheelchair, since his children were around the same age.
She tried a variety of wheelchair sports, but discovered curling almost by accident in 2003 when the Vernon Curling Club sought her advice on making their building’s bathrooms more accessible. Wheelchair curling was set to be a new Olympic sport, and with training from Sharon Morrison and Jan Mori, Sonja quickly qualified for the national team in 2005. She made her debut the following year at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. 
Sonja and her team went on to win three straight Paralympic gold medals for Canada: in 2006, 2010, and 2014. At Sochi, she served as Canada’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremonies. Sonja is also a three-time world wheelchair curling champion, and her efforts saw Canada become virtually unbeatable in this sport between 2009 and 2014.
In 2013, Sonja became the first wheelchair athlete inducted into the Curling Canada Hall of Fame. In 2016, Sonja retired from her athletic career, and two years later, was featured on a Canada Post stamp.
If you are interested in learning about other celebrated local athletes, the Museum and Archives of Vernon is hosting a Winter Sports Display featuring vanguards Larry Kwong, Josh Dueck, and Sonja Gaudet. Check it out during the museum’s open hours.
Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator