CALGARY — Catriona Le May Doan says she’s ready to mentor and shield Canada’s athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist in speedskating was named Canada’s 2022 chef de mission Tuesday by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Le May Doan won gold in the 500 metres in 1998 and 2002. She became the first Canadian to successfully defend an Olympic title.
The 49-year-old from Saskatoon lives in Calgary, where she’s president and chief executive officer of Sport Calgary.
The four-time Olympian worked as a CBC and CTV Olympic commentator since retiring from her sport.
Le May Doan served on the Canadian team’s mission staff in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
She was a lead athlete mentor working alongside chef de mission Isabelle Charest, from whom Le May Doan inherits the job.
“It was a great experience in 2018 being on the mission team. I knew that I wanted to do more than that,” Le May Doan told The Canadian Press.
“It really does kind of complete my Olympic circle, having been athlete, media and mission team. It was something I really wanted, I think maybe more than I even understood.”
Canadian athletes won 29 medals, including 11 gold, to rank third behind Norway and Germany in the overall medal count in Pyeongchang.
The chef de mission, or “head of mission”, is an ambassador for the entire team leading into and during the Games.
Once a role given to Canadian sport administrators, the volunteer position is now filled by former Olympic athletes.
Champion rower Marnie McBean is Canada’s chef for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Previous chefs include cyclist Curt Harnett (2016), skier Steve Podborski (2014), swimmer Mark Tewksbury (2012), speedskater Nathalie Lambert (2010) and diver Sylvie Bernier (2008).
“Catriona has huge credibility and respect in the sport and broader community, is an inspiring leader and is passionate about sport and the Olympic movement,” COC president Tricia Smith said in a statement.
“Between her vast experience in the world of sport, her integrity and the way she consistently lives the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship, we are all extremely fortunate and excited to have Catriona as chef for Beijing 2022.”
In addition to mentorship, the chef de mission also deals with Canadian team issues that can erupt into a firestorm.
When Le May Doan claimed her first gold medal in Nagano, Japan, Canadian chef Bill Wakelin dealt with snowboarder Ross Rebagliati being stripped of his gold medal because he tested positive for marijuana.
The medal was reinstated before the closing ceremonies because marijuana wasn’t on the prohibited list of banned substances.
Le May Doan carried Canada’s flag into the 2002 opening ceremonies in Salt Lake City, where chef Sally Rehorick got little sleep because of a figure-skating judging scandal.
Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier performed what many believed was the superior free skate, but were given lower marks and a silver medal behind a Russian duo.
The controversy burned and kept Canada front and centre at the Games until a duplicate set of gold medals were awarded to Sale and Pelletier.
“There’s stuff in every Games for sure. In certain ways for me, it was good because it took attention away from me,” Le May Doan recalled. “There’s so much pressure you put on yourself.
“When things are good, the chef steps aside and says the focus is on the athlete and that’s what the Games are about.
“But when things are stressful, if there’s some situation you have to deal with, the chef’s role is to then stand in front of the team and be that spokesperson and take that sort of distraction away from the athletes.”
Canada’s winter-sport athletes are facing travel complications, postponement and cancellation of events and shortened seasons because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada’s relationship with China is strained. Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 because of an extradition agreement with the United States.
China immediately arrested Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who are still in custody.
Canada’s United Nations ambassador Bob Rae criticized China’s treatment of Uyghur people in The Globe and Mail this week.
In the same article, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scholar Timothy Grose, who specializes in Chinese ethnic policy, suggested a boycott of the 2022 Olympics.
When Le May Doan bore Canada’s flag into the 2002 opening ceremonies, the man carrying the “Canada” placard in front of her was Brian Maxwell.
He wasn’t wearing a Canadian uniform, Le May Doan said, and Canada’s athletes didn’t know who he was
Maxwell was a Canadian marathoner who wasn’t allowed to race in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.
Canada had joined other countries in boycotting the Games over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“A boycott only hurts the athletes. It does not solve anything,” Le May Doan said.
“My role as chef and the athletes’ role is to prepare and then go to the Games to show Canadian values, to represent our country, to represent Olympic values on that world stage and build bridges between countries.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2020.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled Marine McBean’s first name.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
