Hometown: Orono, ON

Sport: Track and Field

A World Championship record holder and renowned broadcaster, Rob has had a fruitful career as both a participant and evaluator of Paralympic sport.

At a young age, Rob lost his leg below his knee due to congenital bone disease. He’s never thought of himself as ‘disabled,’ however, and claims his ‘drive to get better’ is what serves him everyday: “I’m always thinking that we need to do a better job, we need to cover Paralympic sport better, we need to represent Paralympic athletes better. I’m passionate about doing better today than yesterday.” This worldview that has aided him throughout his career, first, as a Paralympian, and later, as a broadcaster.

In terms of athletics, he competed in track and field for twelve years, representing Canada. This included three Paralympics (Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), and Sydney (2000)), as well as World Championship Games. He still holds Canada’s long jump record of 5.99 meters to this day [confirm].

Rob’s also a veteran sports broadcaster who talks sports on Durham Radio, in Oshawa, and contributes colour-commentary to 90.5 Extra’s broadcasts of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes [confirm]. Impressively, he’s been a member of CBC Sports on-air team for over twenty years, broadcasting elite events, such as beach volleyball in Rio (2016) to snowboarding at the 2018 Olympic games. Most recently, he covered indoor volleyball at the Tokyo games (2020). Moreover, he’s a proud Para-broadcaster, covering everything from the Paralympic to Invictus Games.

“When I’m working in the media in the Paralympic world, I think its compelling sport that Canadians should know about, and I’m glad to be able to communicate that”

He’s also a gifted public speaker and Para sport advocate, speaking to thousands of people on the importance of physical activity for the disabled: “What I’ve noticed, and it’s very encouraging, is that Para-athletes, more and more, are becoming integrated into everyday life. It’s not strange anymore to see someone with a disability playing a sport. It’s become the norm. And I feel that if I’ve had any part in that, then it’s been a worthwhile endeavour”

For his athletic endeavours, Rob received the James Viapond Award for Ontario’s Best Paralympic Athlete in 1992, and was inducted into the Clarington Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. You can follow him on Twitter @RobSnoekLIVE