Billy Bridges (born 22 March 1984) is a Canadian ice sledge hockey, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair curling player. Born in Summerside, he has spina bifida. On July 1, 2011, Bridges married former Olympic women's ice hockey player Sami Jo Small. He competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, in Para ice hockey winning a silver medal.[1]
| Billy Bridges | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bridges at the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships in Buffalo, New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
22 May 1984 Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catches | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |
 Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1998–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Life
editHe began playing ice sledge hockey in 1997, aged 12, for the Kitchener Sidewinders. Aged 14, he was selected for Canada's national team, the youngest player ever to be picked. He has World Championship golds from 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2017 and Paralympic gold from 2006,[2] where he was picked for the All-Star Team.
As well as ice sledge hockey, he has a career as a wheelchair basketball player, including seven Canadian titles with Team Ontario. In 2001, he also competed at the Junior World Championships, and in 2005 was selected as the team's most valuable player (MVP). Bridges was also the skip of Team Manitoba at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, finishing in 10th place with a 2–6 record.
He completed at the 2019 World Para Ice Hockey Championships, and 2021 World Para Ice Hockey Championships, winning silver medals.[3]
Honours
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- 2010 Winter Paralympics
- 4th place in ice sledge hockey
- 2009 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships
- Bronze
- 2008 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships
- Gold
- 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Gold in ice sledge hockey
- 2004 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships
- 4th place
- 2002 Winter Paralympics
- 4th place
- 2000 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships
- Gold (2–1 against Norway)
Career stats
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Billy Bridges - Para Ice Hockey | Paralympic Athlete Profile". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
- ↑ "Team Canada wins gold in sledge hockey, wheelchair curling". Toronto Star. March 19, 2006. Sports section, p. 8.
- ↑ "Bridges | Canadian Paralympic Committee". paralympic.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
- ↑ "Player Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
External links
edit- Billy Bridges - Canada - Para Ice Hockey at the International Paralympic Committee
- Billy Bridges - Para Ice Hockey at the Canadian Paralympic Committee
- Billy Bridges at the Canadian Paralympic Committee at the Wayback Machine (archived 2017-02-14)
- Deprecated link at archive.today (archived 2012-08-02)
- Billy Bridges at Vancouver 2010 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-04-09)