Congratulations to New Brunswick’s Alexandre Hayward on an incredible achievement in his Paralympic debut! Alexandre secured a bronze medal in the men’s C3 3000m individual pursuit at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, marking a proud moment for both him and our province.
More on Alexandre:
“Alexandre Hayward.” Paralympic.ca, www.paralympic.ca/athlete/alexandre-hayward. Accessed August 30, 2024.
Alexandre Hayward opened the 2024 season with gold in the C3 time trial and bronze in road race at a World Cup in Australia and added a time trial bronze at the second stop in Belgium.
At the track worlds in Rio, Hayward took silver in the men’s C3 scratch race.
In 2023, Hayward didn’t expect to be at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland after a month-long battle with mononucleosis. However, despite a noticeable weight loss, he emerged with a satisfying fifth in the men’s C3 Para cycling road race. He was 11th after the first of four laps and 12th after the second before reeling in several opponents.
Later that year, he won two gold, silver and bronze at 2023 Parapan American Games.
Hayward burst on the national and international Para cycling stage in 2022 with a stunning victory in the time trial at a road World Cup event in Quebec City before posting two sixth places at the road world championships a week later in Baie-Comeau, Que.
After the 2022 road worlds, Hayward was invited by Cycling Canada officials to attend a week-long camp at the velodrome in Milton, Ont. to try track cycling, a sport he had never attempted before.
He raced on the track at the world championships near Paris in October that year and missed a berth in the individual pursuit final by one spot placing fifth.
Hayward broke his neck in 2012 at age 16 in a AAA hockey game and was considered a candidate for the QMJHL draft that year. While he can use his arms and legs, all four of his limbs are impaired.
After the accident he first turned to wheelchair basketball and played for New Brunswick at the Canada Winter Games and the national junior team for which he was the captain.
Para cycling was a form of cross training for him but got more serious during the pandemic. He eventually emerged on the Para NB and Cycling Canada radars.
At his first-time trial in May 2022, Hayward hit the standard he needed to compete nationally. At his first Nationals in June in Edmonton, Hayward surprised the field, winning the time trial and qualifying himself for the World Cup and World Championships in Quebec in August.