Paul Rosen

Who is Paul Rosen?

Paul Rosen is a Canadian sledge hockey goalie and motivational speaker from Thornhill, Ontario. Rosen suffered a leg injury during a hockey game as a youth, and the resulting damage, infections and pain to his leg plagued him for years until his lower leg was amputated at age 39. During rehabilitation, Paul turned his sights towards sledge hockey, made the Canadian National Sledge hockey team, and participated in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Paralympics. Rosen was the oldest rookie in the history of the Paralympic Winter Games when he made his debut at 41. At the 2006 Games in Torino, Rosen and the Canadian team won the sledge hockey gold medal.

In January 2007, Rosen made headlines across Canada when his Paralympic gold medal was stolen during an autographing session with fans in Toronto. After commentator Don Cherry told the thief to drop the gold medal in a mailbox during his Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, the medal turned up at a postal sorting station in Toronto and was returned to Rosen. He announced his retirement from the Canadian ice sledge hockey team on September 7, 2010.

Of note, Rosen also competed in sitting volleyball, another disabled sport.