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Joannie Rochette becomes Canadian skating champ

Joannie Rochette just won gold at the 2005 Canadian women's figure skating championships, but she says the most thrilling part of the competition wasn't when she found out she had won. Before she had even finished her performance, the audience was already standing up and cheering. "This was a very intense moment, and it was magical when they all stood up during my final spin," she tells CBC Radio's Bernard St. Laurent in this January 2005 interview.
• Joannie Rochette was born on Jan. 13, 1986 in Montreal.
  • After winning the Canadian championships in 2005, she won the same title for the next four years in a row.

• Rochette won a silver medal at the 2009 world figure skating championships. This made her the first Canadian woman since Elizabeth Manley to win a medal at the world championships (Manley had also won silver back in 1988).

• At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Rochette had some devastating news. Her mother died of a heart attack shortly after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate. Rochette bravely went on with the competition, and won a bronze medal for her performance. Her story touched the hearts of Canadians and Olympic-watchers worldwide. She was given the honour of carrying Canada's flag during the closing ceremonies at the end of the Games.

Medium: Radio
Program: C'est la vie
Broadcast Date: Jan. 28, 2005
Guest(s): Joannie Rochette
Host: Bernard St. Laurent
Duration: 9:42
Photo: CP PHOTO/Paul Chiasson

Last updated: January 24, 2013

Page consulted on April 3, 2013

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