Alexandre & Fred Bilodeau: An Inspiration

On February 14, 2010 Alexandre Bilodeau became the first Canadian to win an Olympic Gold Medal on Canadian soil. He is the current world champion in the Men's Mogul Event in Freestyle Skiing.

After his run, the twenty-two-year-old Alex wouldn't stop talking about how he won the gold medal for his older brother, Frederic, who has cerebal palsy: "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the same perseverance if I didn't grow up with him … In training, it's just like competition and I'm fighting until I can't go any more and until I'm on one ski or something. Even then, I start to pull back and not do my best. I grew up with the mentality, 'If my brother would have that chance, would he take it? Would he try more?'" "I always come to the same answer: Yes, Fred would try more — and that's why I can do it."

Twenty-eight-year-old Fred was born with cerebral palsy — a disorder marked by a lack of muscle coordination, paralysis, and sometimes speech defects (there is no known cure). His doctors said that he would never be able to walk after he was ten years old. Fred didn't listen to them... Even though he spends most of the day in a wheelchair, he still gets up and walks around. He was a regular on the ski slopes but had to stop about two years ago — he fell more often and the pain got to be too much.

Alex said, "I never once in my life heard Fred complain about his condition — NEVER. He accepts it and he's done his best with it. As an athlete you always have good days and bad days and there are many days you just don't want to go train. I have the opportunity to train and I need to use that opportunity because my brother does not have that opportunity. You look at Fred and he's got every right to complain. How many times do we complain in a day? I don't think I can even count how many times I've complained. Fred wakes up in the morning and he's got that big smile. Fred goes to bed at night and he's got that big smile."

When Alex was slogging through the most difficult and demanding parts of training for the Olympics, he thought of Fred. When Alex's legs burned and his back hurt and all he wanted to do was quit, he thought of Fred: "I told myself to just shut up and swallow it and go train. I had the chance to go to the Olympics and I had to take it. Fred doesn't have any chance to go to the Olympics — but if he did he would grab the opportunity and do as much as he could with it."

Alex's coach, Dominick Gauthier, said this about the brothers: "There's an amazing energy between the two of them. Fred is so aware and smart — it's just that he's slowed down. He's been pushing Alex and he keeps Alex on the ground. I've seen Fred give lectures to Alex. He's a real big brother; it's so cool to see. Fred really smiles when Alex wins. Oh man, there's nothing more beautiful than that. Even in Turin when Alex didn't do well, Fred went and hugged Alex. Fred means the world to Alex and has an amazing influence on Alex. I really believe that the calm we're seeing in Alex comes from Fred. It's so pure. It's amazing. Every time I go to their home, I'm touched by it. When I'm there, I'm thinking, 'Holy s--t, this is incredible!'"

If you would like to see the incredible bond between these two brothers, take a look at the video here.

SHINE ON!