Joannie Rochette

Joannie Rochette (born January 13, 1986) is a Canadian figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2009 World silver medalist, the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2004 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a six-time (2005–10) Canadian national champion.

Rochette was born January 13, 1986 in Montreal, Quebec. She was raised in Île Dupas.

On February 21, 2010, two days before the beginning of ladies' figure skating competition at the winter Olympics in Vancouver, her mother, Thérèse Rochette, died of a heart attack at age 55 at Vancouver General Hospital after arriving to watch her compete; Rochette chose to remain in the competition and skate in her mother's honour. At her mother's funeral, she placed her Olympic bronze medal on the casket for some time.

Rochette is currently a spokesperson for the "iheartmom" campaign at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, which deals with raising awareness for heart disease in women. She has also worked with World Vision.

Rochette began skating when she was just two years old after her mother took her to the rink. In the 1999–2000 season, she won the 2000 Canadian Championships on the novice level.

2000–01 season: Junior Grand Prix debut

The following season she debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series. She placed 5th at the 2000–01 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in France and 4th at the event in Mexico. She qualified for the 2001 Canadian Championships by winning both her qualifying events. At the Canadian Championships, she won her second consecutive national title, this time on the Junior level. She was then sent to the 2001 World Junior Championships, where she placed 8th.

2001–02 season

In the 2001–02 season, Rochette competed on the 2001–02 ISU Junior Grand Prix, winning the silver medal at the event in Italy. She won the bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian Championships on the senior level and qualified for the teams to the 2002 Four Continents and the 2002 Junior Worlds. At Four Continents, her second senior international event, Rochette placed 8th. She went on to place 5th at the World Junior Championships.

2002–03 season

In the 2002–03 season, Rochette won the silver medal at the 2003 Canadian Championships. She placed 8th at the 2003 Four Continents and 17th at the 2003 World Championships.

2003–04 season: Grand Prix debut

In the 2003–04 season, Rochette debuted on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. She placed 10th at the 2003 Skate Canada and 4th at the 2003 Cup of Russia. She competed at the 2003 Bofrost Cup on Ice and won the event. At the 2004 Canadian Championships, Rochette won her second consecutive silver medal. She placed 4th at the 2004 Four Continents and moved up to 8th at the World Championships.

2004–05 season: Bronze at GP Final, first senior national title

In the 2004–05 season, Rochette won the bronze medal at the 2004 Cup of China and then won the 2004 Trophée Eric Bompard. She qualified for the 2004–05 Grand Prix Final, where she won the bronze medal. She won the 2005 Canadian Championships, her first Canadian senior title, which made her the first Canadian female skater to have won the Canadian Championships at all three levels (Novice, Junior, and Senior). She placed 11th at the 2005 World Championships. Her placement, combined with that of Cynthia Phaneuf, earned Canada two entries to the 2006 Winter Olympics.

2005–06 season: First Olympics

In the 2005–06 Olympic season, Rochette won the silver medal at the 2005 Skate Canada and placed 4th at the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. She won her second consecutive national title at the 2006 Canadian Championships. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Rochette placed 5th. At the 2006 World Championships, Rochette led following the qualifying round, then placed 7th in the short program and 8th in the free skate to place 7th overall. She had fallen twice on her jumps.

2006–07 season: First Four Continents medal

In the 2006–07 season, Rochette won the 2006 Skate Canada and placed 4th at the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, and missed out on qualifying for the Grand Prix Final on a tie-break. At the 2007 Canadian Championships, Rochette won her third consecutive national title. She won the bronze medal at the 2007 Four Continents and placed 10th at the 2007 World Championships.

2007–08 season

In the 2007–08 season, Rochette won the bronze medals at the 2007 Skate Canada and the 2007 Cup of Russia. At the 2008 Canadian Championships, she won her fourth consecutive national title. She won the silver medal at the 2008 Four Continents and placed 5th at the 2008 World Championships.

2008–09 season: World silver medal

In the 2008–09 season, Rochette won the 2008 Skate Canada. She then won the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, beating reigning World Champion Mao Asada, and credited her work with a psychologist for her improved performances. She qualified for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final, where she placed 4th. She won her fifth consecutive national title at the 2009 Canadian Championships. At the 2009 Four Continents Championships, she won the silver medal, again beating Asada. At the 2009 World Championships, Rochette won the silver medal, becoming the first Canadian woman since Elizabeth Manley to medal at the World Championships.

2009–10 season

For the 2009–10 Grand Prix season, Rochette was assigned to the 2009 Cup of China, and the 2009 Skate Canada International. She started off the season with at the Cup of China, where she placed 7th in the short program, with 52.12 points, 10.08 points behind overnight leader Mirai Nagasu. During the free skate she rebounded, placing 2nd with 111.06 points behind Akiko Suzuki, who placed 1st in that segment. Rochette won the bronze medal with 163.18 points, behind gold medalist Suzuki and silver medalist Kiira Korpi.

At the 2009 Skate Canada, she scored a new personal best in the short program, 70.00 points, placing her first. During the free skate, she placed first again, with 112.90 points. She won the gold medal ahead of silver medalist Alissa Czisny and bronze medalist Laura Lepistö.

Rochette qualified her for the 2009–10 Grand Prix Final. She placed 4th in the short program with 60.94 points, 5.2 points behind overnight leader, Miki Ando. Rochette placed 5th in the free skate, earning only 95.77 points. She placed 5th overall with 156.71 points, 32.15 points behind gold medalist Kim Yuna.

2010 Winter Olympics

Rochette on the podium at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Rochette was nominated to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics after winning her 6th straight Canadian National title.

While practicing for the short programme, Rochette received tragic news: her mother had died shortly after arriving in Vancouver. Upon hearing the news, NBC speed-skating commentator Dan Jansen sent an e-mail to Rochette and shared his experiences of his sister's death during the Calgary Olympics (Canada's last Olympics before Vancouver).

Rochette chose to continue competing in her mother's honour. She recorded a new personal best in the short program, scoring 71.36 points, the third highest score of the night. Two days later, she held on to her third-place position after the long program and won the bronze medal. She became the fifth Canadian to win a medal in ladies' figure skating at the Olympics.

Rochette's performance at the 2010 Olympics figure skating gala on February 27 featured the French version of Celine Dion's song "Fly" as a tribute to her mother (a long-time fan of Dion), ending with her face raised to the heavens.

Because of her inspiring determination in the face of these circumstances, along with Petra Majdič, she received the inaugural Terry Fox Award for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Fellow Canadian Olympian Jon Montgomery described Rochette as having shown "so much heart and determination at the 2010 Games (...) What she displayed is honestly what the Olympics are all about." Rochette was chosen as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

Post-Olympics

In December 2010, Rochette was voted the Female Athlete of the Year by The Canadian Press.

She did not compete at the 2010 World Championships and later announced that she would not take part in the 2010–11 Grand Prix series. In an October 2012 interview, Rochette said she was weighing a return to competition. She confirmed in September 2013 that she would not compete for a spot to the 2014 Olympics but would travel to Sochi with the CBC for an undetermined role mainly in French.

Post-2010

Pre-2010

Rochette during her short program La Cumparsita at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix