Myriam Bédard
Encyclopedia
Myriam Bédard, MSC
(born December 22, 1969) is a Canadian biathlete
(retired), winner of two Olympic
gold medals.
, Bédard learned marksmanship as a member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets
' 2772 cadet corps, which she joined at the age of 15, and participated in her first biathlon event at age 15. She became Canadian junior champion in the sport in 1987.
In 1991, Bédard was the second Canadian to win a biathlon World Cup event, and she formed part of the Canadian team at the 1992 Winter Olympics
, in Albertville
, France – the first time women competed in biathlon at the Olympics – and Bédard won a bronze medal in the 15 km. The following year she won her first major title, as she won the 7.5 km event at the World Championships, also placing second in the 15 km race. At the 1994 Winter Olympics
in Lillehammer
, Norway, she improved this performance, and won both individual events. She was also awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy
in 1994 for top performance by a Canadian athlete, as well as the Velma Springstead Trophy
for best Canadian female athlete.
She is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
, student # S120.
, Bédard retired from biathlon. She later announced an attempt to make the Canadian Olympic team as a speed skater
, but did not pursue this goal for long. In 2004, Bédard was one of eight persons (and the only woman) in the International Biathlon Union
's executive board, where she served as the IBU's vice-president responsible for special issues.
On February 27, 2004, in the context of the sponsorship scandal that came to light soon after Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
left office, Bédard asserted that she had been forced to resign from her marketing department job at Via Rail
in 2002 shortly after raising concerns about the company's dealings with advertiser Groupaction
. Responses to her allegations led to the firings a few days later of Via Rail chair Jean Pelletier
and president Marc LeFrançois
.
However, in testimony before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in late March 2004, Bédard made further allegations that were met with widespread skepticism: she claimed that she had been told that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking, that her partner Nima Mazhari had personally convinced Prime Minister Chrétien to keep Canada out of the war in Iraq, and that Québécois race car legend Jacques Villeneuve
had been paid $12 million to wear a Canadian flag on his uniform. Villeneuve strongly denied the latter allegation, calling it "ludicrous."
According to CBC News
, an arbitrator's report later concluded that Bédard had voluntarily left Via Rail.
On December 8, 2006, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for Bédard for the abduction of her daughter. Bédard was in Washington, D.C.
. Bédard was arrested by the United States Marshals Service
in Columbia, Maryland
. She was detained in Columbia, Maryland
until her extradition to Canada. She appeared in court in Baltimore, Maryland on December 26, 2006. Her daughter was under the care of the United States Marshals Service
prior to being returned to her father December 23. Bédard returned to Canada on January 4, 2007. On September 20, 2007, a jury at a Quebec City
found Bédard guilty of child abduction for violating a child custody agreement. On October 9, 2007, she was sentenced to a conditional discharge
and two years probation
.
Meritorious Service Decoration (Canada)
The Meritorious Service Decorations , available in two forms as the Meritorious Service Cross and the Meritorious Service Medal , are Canadian decorations awarded to those who have demonstrated an outstanding level of service or set an exemplary standard of...
(born December 22, 1969) is a Canadian biathlete
Biathlon
Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
(retired), winner of two Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medals.
Olympic career
Born in Neufchâtel, QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Bédard learned marksmanship as a member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets
Royal Canadian Army Cadets
The Royal Canadian Army Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence with the civilian partner providing support in...
' 2772 cadet corps, which she joined at the age of 15, and participated in her first biathlon event at age 15. She became Canadian junior champion in the sport in 1987.
In 1991, Bédard was the second Canadian to win a biathlon World Cup event, and she formed part of the Canadian team at the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
, in Albertville
Albertville
Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The town is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics.-Geography:...
, France – the first time women competed in biathlon at the Olympics – and Bédard won a bronze medal in the 15 km. The following year she won her first major title, as she won the 7.5 km event at the World Championships, also placing second in the 15 km race. At the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, Norway, she improved this performance, and won both individual events. She was also awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy
Lou Marsh Trophy
The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
in 1994 for top performance by a Canadian athlete, as well as the Velma Springstead Trophy
Velma Springstead Trophy
The Velma Springstead Trophy is an award presented annually to Canada's outstanding female athlete. It is named in honour of track athlete Velma Springstead whose career ended prematurely when she died from pneumonia in 1927 when only 20 years old. The Women's Amateur Athletic Federation of Canada...
for best Canadian female athlete.
She is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
, student # S120.
Post-Olympic career
She briefly retired from the sport to give birth to her daughter (the father was another biathlete, and soldier, Jean Paquet). Her comeback was not very successful, being hampered by injuries. After the 1998 Winter Olympics1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
, Bédard retired from biathlon. She later announced an attempt to make the Canadian Olympic team as a speed skater
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
, but did not pursue this goal for long. In 2004, Bédard was one of eight persons (and the only woman) in the International Biathlon Union
International Biathlon Union
The International Biathlon Union, IBU, is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters are in Salzburg, Austria.- History :The International Biathlon Union was founded on 2 July 1993...
's executive board, where she served as the IBU's vice-president responsible for special issues.
On February 27, 2004, in the context of the sponsorship scandal that came to light soon after Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
left office, Bédard asserted that she had been forced to resign from her marketing department job at Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
in 2002 shortly after raising concerns about the company's dealings with advertiser Groupaction
Groupaction
Groupaction Inc. is a Canadian advertising agency at the centre of the 2004 Canadian sponsorship scandal. It was incorporated in 1983 as Groupaction Marketing Inc. and received its first federal advertising contract in 1994 with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ....
. Responses to her allegations led to the firings a few days later of Via Rail chair Jean Pelletier
Jean Pelletier
Jean Pelletier, was a Canadian politician, who served as the 37th mayor of Quebec City, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister's Office, and chairman of Via Rail...
and president Marc LeFrançois
Marc LeFrançois
Marc LeFrançois is a Canadian business executive. He was the president of Via Rail until March 5, 2004, when he was fired in connection with the sponsorship scandal. He was a board member from 1997 to 2002, and replaced Rod Morrison as CEO of Via Rail in November 2000.-References:...
.
However, in testimony before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in late March 2004, Bédard made further allegations that were met with widespread skepticism: she claimed that she had been told that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking, that her partner Nima Mazhari had personally convinced Prime Minister Chrétien to keep Canada out of the war in Iraq, and that Québécois race car legend Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...
had been paid $12 million to wear a Canadian flag on his uniform. Villeneuve strongly denied the latter allegation, calling it "ludicrous."
According to CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
, an arbitrator's report later concluded that Bédard had voluntarily left Via Rail.
On December 8, 2006, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for Bédard for the abduction of her daughter. Bédard was in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Bédard was arrested by the United States Marshals Service
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
in Columbia, Maryland
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...
. She was detained in Columbia, Maryland
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...
until her extradition to Canada. She appeared in court in Baltimore, Maryland on December 26, 2006. Her daughter was under the care of the United States Marshals Service
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
prior to being returned to her father December 23. Bédard returned to Canada on January 4, 2007. On September 20, 2007, a jury at a Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
found Bédard guilty of child abduction for violating a child custody agreement. On October 9, 2007, she was sentenced to a conditional discharge
Conditional discharge
A discharge is a type of sentence where no punishment is imposed. An absolute discharge is unconditional: the defendant is not punished, and the case is over. In some jurisdictions, an absolute discharge means there is no conviction despite a finding that the defendant is guilty...
and two years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
.
External links
- "Pelletier fired from Via Rail", CBC NewsCBC NewsCBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
, March 1, 2004 - "U.S. Marshalls arrest Olympian Myriam Bédard on Canadawide warrant", Canadian PressCanadian PressCanadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
, December 22, 2006 - "The Mysterious Comedown of a Canadian Olympic Darling", Washington Post, January 9, 2007