Paralympic swimmer Benoît Huot named to Order of Canada
32-year-old has won 20 Paralympic medals
The awards continue to pour in for Canadian Paralympian and parasport ambassador Benoît Huot.
On Friday, the nine-time Paralympic gold medallist was named to the Order of Canada.
The award was established in 1967 and is one of Canada's highest civilian honours. The Order of Canada celebrates Canadians who have excelled in their field or who have demonstrated exceptional dedication or service to their country.
Competing in his fifth Paralympic Games at Rio 2016, Huot earned a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle S10 — his 20th individual medal.
Whooohooo!! So happy! Médaille de bronze pour mon ami <a href="https://twitter.com/benhuot">@benhuot</a> !! Enjoy my friend!! <a href="https://twitter.com/SwimmingCanada">@SwimmingCanada</a>
—@CPetitclercYES!!!!!!!! BRONZE FOR <a href="https://twitter.com/benhuot">@benhuot</a> <br>Congrats my friend!!!!!<br>Well done!!!!!
—@The_Real_DENGMoments after winning the bronze, he announced that it would be his last Paralympic race.
"Finishing with the 20th medal, probably in my last Paralympic race, I can't be more happy," Huot told the Canadian Press after the final.
Remarkable career
The Longueuil, Que., native first competed in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, where he won three gold and three silver medals. His best Games came four years later in Athens, Greece, when he captured five gold and one silver.
He was also chosen as Canada's flag-bearer at the closing ceremony in London 2012 after he won three medals, including breaking a world-record in the 200-metre individual medley SM10.
The 32-year-old was the only athlete to receive the Order of Canada honour, ahead of the country's 150th birthday on July 1.
Huot is joined by many other notables, including world-renowned astrophysicist Victoria Kaspi and former Supreme Court justice Morris Fish.
"Let's be inspired by the examples set by these remarkable Canadians and use this occasion to build a smarter and more caring country," Gov. Gen. David Johnston said in a release.