Curtis Lovejoy

Curtis Lovejoy (May 13, 1957 – March 11, 2021) was an American Paralympic swimmer. In 2000, he won the gold medal in the men's 50 metre freestyle S2 and the men's 100 metre freestyle S2 events at the Summer Paralympics held in Sydney, Australia. He also won two medals in swimming at the 2004 Summer Paralympics held in Athens, Greece. He also competed in wheelchair fencing.

Early life

In 1986, Lovejoy was paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident. He took up swimming as therapy after his accident.

Career

In 2009, Lovejoy won the gold medal in the men's 50 metre freestyle S3 event at the 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25 m held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a new world record of 55.77s. He also won the bronze medal in the men's 4×50 m freestyle relay 20 pts event. Lovejoy was inducted into the Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2013.

In 2015, Lovejoy competed in swimming at the Parapan American Games held in Toronto, Canada. He won the silver medal in the mixed 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay 20pts event. Lovejoy was also the flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony of the 2015 Parapan American Games. In 2019, he was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.

He died on March 11, 2021. He retired earlier in 2021 after being diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.