Marc Theriault was among gold medal-winning athletes at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games, held in Turin, Italy, from March 8-15.
The longtime figure skater, an icon on ice who trains in North Surrey and lives in Delta, struck gold in his ninth World Games appearance in three different sports.
In alpine skiing, fellow Delta resident Cory Duhaime won two gold medals and a silver.
Team Canada athletes with intellectual disabilities won 116 medals in Turin, where 22 from B.C. made 29 podium visits during a week of action in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating and snowshoeing. Representing 100 nations, the 1,500 athletes ranged in age from 15 to 66.
Theriault's story is told as "A Lifetime on Ice, A Legacy of Gold and Guidance," a recent post on the Special Olympics Team Canada website.
His journey in figure skating began 40 years ago at the age of six, when his mother, Karen, urged him to get involved in an individual sport that might help him build confidence.
"I wanted him to find a sport where he could depend on himself," Karen recalled. "I also always loved figure skating and thought it was a beautiful sport. In a way, this was like giving him the chance to live out my dream. Now we share that dream."
In his mid-teens, Theriault dove into Special Olympics through soccer and softball while Karen worked to find a coach and build a local figure skating program in Surrey. He officially joined Special Olympics in 1995 and competed in his first Special Olympics World Games in 1999 — in softball, with excellence in figure skating to come later.
Theriault has now competed at nine Special Olympics World Games – the number would have been 10, had the 2022 event not been cancelled due to the COVID pandemic — and each time, he has returned home with gold.
"I will keep skating until my legs don’t work anymore," he says.
Athletes qualified for Team Canada by advancing through the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games in Kamloops and 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary.
Surrey-based athlete Susan Wang was also in Turin as one of 10 athlete-leaders serving in the international role of Special Olympics Sargent Shriver Global Messenger, in public speaking and awareness roles.
In B.C., the next major Special Olympics competition will be the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games, in Prince George from July 10-12.
There is no age limit for participation in Special Olympics BC’s year-round sport, youth and health programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Visit specialolympics.ca for details.
