Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) National team Canada Name Jean Labonte | Position Defence Playing career | |
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Born March 20, 1969 (age 56)
Hull, QC, CA ( 1969-03-20 ) Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
Jean Labonte - Sledge Hockey - Gatineau, Quebec
Jean Labonte (born March 20, 1969) is a Canadian sledge hockey player.
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Labonte was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his left tibia in 1986 at the age of 17 and finally lost his leg at the age of 20, in 1990. After his amputation, Labonte turned his sights towards sledge hockey and made the Canadian National Sledge hockey team for the first time in 1996. He was on the Canadian team that won the 2006 sledge hockey gold medal at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino. He was the captain of the Canadian Team from the 2007-08 season until his retirement after the 2009-2010 season. He studied at l'Universite du Quebec en Outaouais and currently works at Alcatel-Lucent as a software designer.
International career
Labonte was named on the Canadian National Sledge hockey team for the first time in 1996, at the age of 26. His first international tournament was the 1996 IPC World Championships held in Nynashamn, Sweden. Labonte was team Canada's captain from the 2007-2008 season until his retirement after the 2009-2010 season.
Labonte was the flag bearer for Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.