Former Paralympian, Olympic cyclist among those inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame

Although he held a couple of world records in the 1980s for running, and participated in three Paralympics, Gilles LaFrance never became a household name.

But now the runner from Sudbury, Ont., has been inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame.

A ceremony was held Wednesday.

"I was really surprised because I didn't think it was going to happen for a long time," LaFrance said about the honour.

LaFrance said he joked with the hall of fame's organizer, Randy Pascal, that he thought he would be recognized posthumously because other athletes were more deserving.

LaFrance has a mild form of cerebral palsy, but said it feels more natural for him to run than to walk.

His parents encouraged him to run in the early 1980s, and by 1982 he was representing Canada at the World Cerebral Palsy Games in 1982.

"I ended up going there and I got a gold medal, my very first, in the 200-metre race," he said. "And then it just continued."

From 1984 to 1992 he had a good run where he just missed the podium at three Paralympics.

LaFrance finished fourth at the games in New York City in 1984, fifth at the games in Seoul in 1988 and fourth again at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona.

In 1986, between Paralympics, he broke two world records in a 30-day span.

LaFrance said he still runs for fun and participates in Sudbury Rocks race every year.

Ringette player Karen Duguay Bunting, figure skater Jeffrey Buttle and late Sudbury city councillor Fabio Belli, who helped build the city's soccer community, were also inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame.

Class of 2020 also recognized

Olympic cyclist Gary Trevisiol was part of the hall of fame's class of 2020, but didn't get to attend a ceremony that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The ceremony Wednesday also recognized athletes from that year.

"It's a privilege," Trevisiol said.

"I'm very proud of that and I'm happy, along with the other people who are recognized too."

Trevisiol represented Canada on the track cycling team at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

It would have been his second Olympics, if it hadn't been for the western boycott of the games in Russia in 1980.

He stopped racing a few years after the Los Angeles games but continued to stay active.

"I think sports in general are a good thing," he said.

"It's good fitness. It's exercise. It keeps you with a group of people too that you interact with and they tend to have the same interest as you. You get to go to different events and I just think it's a healthy thing."