CANADIAN SKATER'S COURAGEOUS PERFORMANCE

By Debbie Bulloch



Every four years we are treated to the grand spectacle of the Olympics. According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were started by Heracles (the Roman Hercules). The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. Finally, in the year 393 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the games because they were “too pagan.”

Fast forward 1500 years later when a young Frenchman, named Pierre de Coubertin, began the movement to revive the Modern Olympics. Inspired by what he believed to be a lack of “vigor” among French soldiers, de Coubertin (better known as “le Renovateur”) founded the Union des Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA). Eventually, the USFSA became the driving force for the restoration of the Olympic Games.

Watching the Olympic Games (Winter and Summer) is like looking into a window where we can see the whole spectrum of the human drama parade right before our very eyes. The fields of athletic competition test, as no other endeavor can the power, the resilience, and the beauty of the human species.

This year’s Vancouver’s Winter Olympics are no different. Even before the opening ceremonies, we witnessed in horror the tragic and sudden death of a young man on a training run in the luge. Seconds after launching from the starting gate, we saw his body fly through the air, striking a support beam and then landing lifelessly on the ground.

So far, the highlight of these winter Olympic Games was the personally courageous performance by Canadian ice skater Joannie Rochette.



Joannie Rochette is a young French-Canadian ice skater. She was born and raised in the small town of Ile-Dupas, in French-speaking Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. According to Joannie’s bio, the town of Ile-Dupas is best known for duck hunting and for an annual tractor-pulling contest – not an auspicious birthplace for a future world ice skating champion.

Joannie is an only child. From an early age, Joannie’s parents, Therese and Normand Rochette, worked hard to help their daughter realize her dream of achieving Olympic gold. Then, in a tragic twist of fate, Joannie’s mom died of a massive heart attack just 48 hours prior to Joannie’s turn to skate – Therese was only 55.

Most, if not all, of us have experienced deep personal losses. Losses that are so heart rending to make us run into a dark corner and crumble unto our knees, leaving us to doubt whether we will be able to ever stand up again and face the sun.

No event is as devastating to a child as the loss of a parent – the very cornerstone of a child’s life. So no one would have blamed Joannie if, after getting the news of her mother’s sudden death, she had packed her ice skates and gone home to mourn.

Standing as tall as a giant, the diminutive skater [she stands 5’2” (1.6m) tall and weighs 112 pounds (50.80 kg)], Joannie took to the ice Tuesday night she skated with the heart of a lion and the grace of an angel.

Without her mom sitting on the stands, Joannie was left without her biggest cheerleader. Or was she?

Cheering her on were her loving fans, Canadians who waved banners reading “GO – JO.” The melting pot of nationalities that packed the ice skating arena lustily roared their approval and in one magical moment Joannie transcended national borders. She ceased to be a Canadian ice skating champion and, instead, became everyone’s daughter. With her skates’ blades cutting across the ice, propelling her from one jump to the next, Joannie was no longer a motherless child – on that night and at that moment Joannie had a thousand mothers in the arena and millions more moms (myself included) watching on television.

At the end of her performance, when Joannie collapsed in tears, we all cried with her. Mrs. Rochette, who was surely watching her daughter from up above, must have also been crying – tears of joy and happiness.

At the end of Tuesday’s performance, Joannie was in third place, behind the favorites from South Korea and Japan. The women’s figure skating finals are scheduled for Thursday night. No one knows how Joannie will perform or what her final standing will be.

But if Joannie’s mother in Heaven has her way and all of Joannie’s mom here on Earth have our way, angels will be by Joannie’s side lifting her up through every jump, cushioning every landing and propelling her skates across the Canadian ice.

Citius, Altius, Fortius – Faster, Higher, Stronger

To read more about Joannie’s story of tragedy and triumph, click here:

Rochette wins hearts with Olympic skate

And here:

Rochette’s Brave Performance

EDITOR’S NOTE: The city of Vancouver has gone out of its way to extend the welcome mat to visitors to this winter’s Olympic Games. Their efforts include the publication of a booklet to help foreign visitors figure out the nuances of Canadian culture. "Canadians are polite and apologetic," says the booklet. The booklet then adds, "Don't be surprised if someone apologizes to you even if you were the one at fault. It's our natural reaction, sorry about that."

Glo, if you are reading this: Mea culpa – I’m sorry.