Guillaume LeBlanc

By the age of 19 Guillaume LeBlanc had already set a junior record in the 10 km walk, won a silver medal at the 1980 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, and represented Canada as a senior on the international stage with a 10th place finish in the 20 km walk at the 1981 World Race Walking Cup. One year later he was standing on an international podium, having won bronze in the 30 km road walk at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, behind Steve Barry of Great Britain and Marcel Jobin of Canada. He followed this up by setting a national record in the 20 km at the 1983 World Championships (placing eighth overall) and winning the event at the Summer Universiade that same year. This took him to the 1984 Summer Olympics, where he missed the final podium spot in the 20 km by just over a minute and also competed in the 50 km. He slipped to bronze in the 20 km at the 1985 Summer Universiade, but moved up to silver in the 30 km at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, behind Simon Baker of Australia. He attended the 1988 Summer Olympics, this time participating in just the 20 km, but managed only 10th place. He ended the 1980s strong with a gold medal in the 20 km at the 1989 Jeux de la Francophonie.

LeBlanc had his best years in the early 1990s, staring with a gold medal in the 30 km at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Although he was disqualified in the 20 km event at the 1991 World Championships, he made Canada’s delegation to the 1992 Summer Olympics, where he won silver in the 20 km behind Daniel Plaza of Spain and also competed in the 50 km. He retired shortly after these Games and took up coaching children’s soccer and football, in addition to his daytime job with Bell Canada. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008 and a recreation center in Rimouski, Quebec was named in his honor in 1993.

Personal Bests: 20kmW – 1-21:13 (1986); 50kmW – 3-56:46 (1992).