Catriona Le May Doan

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Catriona Le May Doan
Catriona Le May Doan Oh Canada.jpg
Le May Doan in 2010 at the Olympic Plaza in Calgary, Alberta
Personal information
Born (1970-12-23) December 23, 1970 (age 50)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Sport
Country Canada
SportSpeed skating
Retired2003
hide
Medal record
Women's speed skating
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano 1,000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Calgary 500 m
Gold medal – first place 1999 Heerenveen 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2001 Salt Lake City 500 m
Gold medal – first place 1998 Berlin Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2002 Hamar Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1998 Calgary 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 1999 Calgary Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Nagano 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Heerenveen 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Salt Lake City 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Inzell Sprint

Catriona Ann Le May Doan, OC (born December 23, 1970) is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m and will be the chef de mission for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Career[]

Speed skating[]

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of Scottish ancestry, Le May Doan won the Olympic 500 m title at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and she repeated this feat at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, giving rise to the title "the fastest woman on ice[citation needed]". At the Nagano Olympics, she also won a bronze on the 1,000 m. She was World Sprint Champion 1998 and 2002 and World Champion 500 m 1998, 1999, and 2001, and she won a 500 m bronze in 2000. She has also won the 500 m World Cup 4 times (in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003) and the 1,000 m World Cup once (in 1998).[citation needed] She has twice been Canada's flag bearer at the Winter Olympics, for the 1998 Nagano Olympics closing ceremony and the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

On November 22, 1997, Le May Doan became the first woman to break the 38-second barrier for the 500 m, skating 37.90 s in Calgary, Alberta.[citation needed] Before the year was over, she had tied this record once and broken it twice, ending on 37.55 s. Within the next four years, she broke this record four more times, up to 37.22 s in Calgary, in December 2001. No other woman has set eight consecutive World Records in one distance. Between 7 January 2001 and 24 February 2001, Le May Doan even had the 14 best times ever skated on that distance:[citation needed]

  • 1. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,40 1 Calgary 06-01-2001
  • 2. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,55 1 Calgary 28-12-1997
  • 3. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,57 1 Calgary 07-01-2001
  • 4. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,71 1 Calgary 27-03-1998
  • 5. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,71 1 Calgary 27-12-1997
  • 6. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,86 1 Calgary 21-02-1999
  • 7. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,88 1 Calgary 27-03-1998
  • 8. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,89 1 Calgary 20-02-1999
  • 9. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 22-11-1997
  • 10. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 23-11-1997
  • 11. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 29-11-1998
  • 12. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,94 1 Calgary 18-11-2000
  • 13. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,97 1 Calgary 12-01-2000
  • 14. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,98 1 Calgary 13-02-1999

Le May Doan still had a long way to go before she started fighting for Olympic Gold and World Records. In the 1994 Winter Olympics, she fell on the 500 m and placed 17th on the 1,500 m as her best result. Prior to the Nagano Games, she was training with her teammate and rival Susan Auch, both being coached by Susan's brother, . In Nagano, Susan Auch placed 2nd behind Catriona on the 500 m. She is now[when?] coached by the Canadian sprint coach, former Olympic speed skater Sean Ireland.[1]

Le May Doan repeated her gold medal in the 500m at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics from the 1998 Nagano Olympics. She became the first Canadian to defend their gold medal at the Olympics.[2][3]

Le May Doan was married to Bart Doan, they separated in 2017[citation needed]. She has two children, Greta and Easton. In 2002, she published an autobiography, Going for Gold.

After speedskating[]

Le May Doan carrying the Olympic flame at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics

Le May Doan retired from competitive skating in 2003, and in 2004 gave birth to her first child, Greta. She was a commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was a member of the official Canadian contingent when Vancouver, British Columbia was chosen as the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. She is a popular motivational speaker, and has been involved with Campus Crusade for Christ's Power to Change campaign.[citation needed]

In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.[4][5]

She provided colour commentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 2006 Winter Olympics for Speed Skating, and was present to see her former teammates Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes win their personal and national record achievements. She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008[6] and was also a colour commentator for CTV at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver for the sport of Speed Skating. She was one of four torchbearers selected to light the interior cauldron in BC Place at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She was subsequently left out of the lighting when one of the arms to light the cauldron failed to rise due to mechanical problems.[7] This was remediated, however, as part of the opening segment of the closing ceremonies when she lit the fourth arm of the cauldron.

In November 2020 it was announced that Le May Doan would be the chef de mission for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[8]

Achievements[]

  • 1996
    • Gold- 1996 World Sprint Championship, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
  • 1997
    • First Overall- 1997/98 World Cup Standings 500 m
    • Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Roseville, Minnesota
    • Silver- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Roseville, Minnesota
    • Gold- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Roseville, Minnesota
    • Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary, Alberta
    • Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary, Alberta
    • Gold- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary, Alberta
    • Silver- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary, Alberta
    • Gold- 1996/97 Canadian Sprint Championship, Overall
    • Silver- 1997 World Sprint Championship, 500m, Hamar, Norway
    • Bronze- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Innsbruck, Austria
  • 1998
    • Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 500 m, Seoul, Korea
    • Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 500 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 1000 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Gold- 1998 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Bronze- 1998 Winter Olympic Games, 1000 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Olympic Record- 1998 Winter Olympic Games 500 m (38.21 s)
    • 1998- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year
    • First Overall- 1998 World Cup Standings 500 m
    • First Overall- 1998 World Cup Standings 1000 m
    • Gold- 1998 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Calgary
    • Silver- 1998 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Calgary
    • Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, West Allis, Wisconsin
    • Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, West Allis, Wisconsin
    • World Record- 1998 Canadian Olympic Trials 500 m (37.55 s)
    • World Champion- 1998 World Sprint Championship, Berlin, Germany
    • Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy
    • Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy
    • Silver- 1998 World Cup, 1000 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy
  • 1999
    • Gold- 1999 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
    • Bronze- 1999 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
    • First Overall- 1999 World Cup Standings, 500 m
    • Third Overall- 1999 World Cup Standings, 1000 m
    • World Champion- 1999 World Sprint Championships, 500 m, Calgary
    • Gold- 1999 World Cup, 500 m, Berlin, Germany
  • 2000
    • Gold- 2000/01 World Cup, 500 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Gold- 2000/01 World Cup, 500 m, Seoul, Korea
    • Bronze- 2000 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Nagano, Japan
    • Silver- 2000 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary
    • Silver- 2000 World Cup, 500 m, Butte, Montana
    • Silver- 2000 World Cup, 1000 m, Butte, Montana
    • First Overall- 2000 Canadian Sprint Championships
  • 2001
    • 2001- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year
    • World Record- 2001 World Single Distance Championships 500 m (37.29 s)
    • First Overall- 2001 World Cup Standings, 500 m
    • World Record- 2001 Canadian National Championships 500 m (37.40 s)
    • World Record- 2001 Canadian National Championships Overall: Points (150.085)
    • Gold- 2001 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah
    • Bronze- 2001 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Salt Lake City, Utah
    • World Champion- 2001 World Sprint Championships, 500 m, Inzell, Germany
    • First Overall- 2001 Canadian Sprint Championships
    • Gold- 2001 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary
    • Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary
    • Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
    • Gold- 2001 World Cup, 1000 m Heerenveen, Netherlands
    • Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Helsinki, Finland
    • Silver- 2001/02 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary
    • Gold- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 2002
    • Gold- 2002 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah
    • Olympic Record- 2002 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m (37.30 s), Salt Lake City, Utah
    • World Champion- 2002 World Sprint Championships, 500 m, Hamar, Norway
    • 2002- Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Athlete of the Year
    • 2002- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year
    • World Record- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m (37.22 s) Calgary
    • First Overall- 2002 World Cup Standings 500 m
    • Gold- 2002 World Cup, 500 m, Inzell, Germany
    • Gold- 2002 World Cup, 100 m, Inzell, Germany
    • Gold- 2002 World Cup, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
    • Gold- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary

Personal records[]

Distance Result Location Date
500 m 37.22 Calgary 9 December 2001
1,000 m 1:14.50 Salt Lake City 10 March 2001
1,500 m 1:57.50 Calgary 16 March 2001
3,000 m 4:26.98 Calgary 21 March 2003
5,000 m 8:14.52 Calgary 19 December 1993

[9]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Chasing the fastest woman in world". Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  2. ^ "Alexandre Bilodeau Wins Gold, Mikael Kingsbury Silver In Olympic Moguls At Sochi". Huffington Post. February 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Eric Koreen (August 10, 2012). "Catriona Le May Doan emerging as Olympic broadcasting star". National Post. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Order of Canada - Catriona Le May Doan, O.C." The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame - Catriona LeMay Doan". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  6. ^ "Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame". olympic.ca. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-02-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Catriona Le May Doan, 2-time gold medallist, named Canada's chef de mission for Beijing Olympics | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  9. ^ Eng and Petersen 2005, p. 21.

Bibliography[]

  • Eng, Trond. All Time International Championships, Complete Results: 1889 – 2002. Askim, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2002.
  • Eng, Trond and Preben Gorud Petersen. World All Time Best 2004/2005 – Ladies. Askim, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2005.
  • Le May Doan, Catriona with Ken McGoogan. Going For Gold. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland & Stewart Publishers, 2002. Autobiography

External links[]

Olympic Games
Preceded by
Li Ning 		Final Olympic torchbearer
with Steve Nash, Nancy Greene, and Wayne Gretzky
Vancouver 2010 		Succeeded by
Callum Airlie, Jordan Duckitt, Desiree Henry, Katie Kirk, Cameron MacRitchie, Aidan Reynolds, and Adelle Tracey
Preceded by
Stefania Belmondo 		Final Winter Olympic torchbearer
with Steve Nash, Nancy Greene, and Wayne Gretzky
Vancouver 2010 		Succeeded by
Irina Rodnina and Vladislav Tretiak
Retrieved from ""