Josh Cassidy

Josh Cassidy (born November 15, 1984, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian Paralympic wheelchair racer, motivational speaker, artist, and actor.

He is a 31 time Canadian Champion competing in the middle to long distance events. He has been National Champion and held National records at times throughout his career in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m and Marathon.

In 2005, he was carded as a Canadian National Team athlete, and competed in his first world championships in 2006 in Assen, Netherlands.

Cassidy represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, finishing 10th in the 5000m, 12th in the 1500m, and 17th in the 800m.

In 2010, Cassidy won the 2010 London Marathon with a time of 1:35:21 seconds. In 2012, he won the 2012 Boston Marathon wheelchair race with a time of 1:18:25, which at the time became the fastest wheelchair marathon time ever recorded, though didn't count as a world record due to the Boston Marathon course being ineligible for world records. His record stood for five years until broken by Marcel Hug of Switzerland in 2017.

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Cassidy competed whilst fighting a bacteria infection. He placed 12th in the marathon, 20th in the 5000m, 10th in the 1500m. He overcame a crash in the 800m, and still placed 5th.