NWT skater brings home three medals from Special Olympics World Games

Joshua Boudreau arrived in Yellowknife on Tuesday afternoon to an airport full of cheers and Canadian flags.

Boudreau was returning home from Turin, Italy, where he competed for Team Canada in speed skating at the Special Olympics World Winter Games.

“It was actually quite surprising,” he said of the welcoming party. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

Boudreau won two silver medals at the games, one in the 777m race with a final time of 1:25:85 and another in the 1,000m race with a time of 1:50:07. He also won bronze in the 500m race, which he completed in 00:54:22.

“It feels great,” he said of bringing home three medals, which he wore proudly around his neck.

Boudreau has been speed skating for more than a decade. His previous achievements include two gold medals and a bronze at the 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games and double gold at the 2020 games.

“I love making new friends and I could say I love going fast,” he said of why he likes the sport.

Before heading to Turin, Boudreau competed at the NWT Territorial Speed Skating Championships where he completed the 500m in 53.91 seconds, just shy of his personal best of 53.2.

Boudreau also competes in track and field, triathlons and duathlons.

Boudreau said Turin was his first time competing at the world games. He was previously set to compete at the 2022 world games in Kazan, Russia, which were postponed due to Covid-19 and then cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Boudreau said the highlight of his trip to Turin was “representing my country at the highest level.” He also made friends with other athletes from around the world.

While at the games, Team Canada athletes paid tribute to their late teammate Jordan Stevenson, a speed skater from Saskatchewan who passed away shortly before he was set to compete at the games

“We followed his promise. He said his goals were to have fun and try [his] best and that’s what we did,” Boudreau said.

The games were also Boudreau’s first time visiting Europe. He said he “got to see some pretty good sights” and enjoyed getting to try gelato.

Overall, Boudreau said Special Olympics has made a positive impact on his life.

“It means a lot to me because nobody wanted to be my friend … Because I was different, people were treating me differently than other people,” he said.

“Then Special O found me and now I feel included, and look where I am now.”

The Special Olympics World Winter Games took place between March 8 and 15 and saw more than 1,500 athletes from 100 delegations compete in eight sports.