Sylvie Daigle
Encyclopedia
Sylvie Daigle (born December 1, 1962) is a Canadian
speed skater. She is a member of Canadian Short Track relay team that won gold medal in 1992 Winter Olympics
and silver medal in 1994 Winter Olympics
. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion (for 1979, 1983, 1988–1990). She was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec
.
First competing in 1979, she has participated, and triumphed, in long-track events during the Canada Winter Games that year, winning gold in the 500-metre, 1000-metre and 1500-metre competitions. The following year in Lake Placid
at the 1980 Winter Olympics
, Sylvie Daigle finished 19th in the 500-metre.
At Sarajevo
in the 1984 Winter Olympics
, she was 20th in the 500-metre, 25th in the 1000-metre and 22nd in the 1500-metre. A pair of operations in 1985 and 1987, aimed at relieving the pain in her knees, led her to re-direct her career. Consequently, in 1987, she decided to devote herself to short-track speed skating (having won the Overall Short-track World Championships in 1979 and in 1983), which was introduced the following year as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Winter Olympics
in Calgary
. There, Sylvie won a gold in the 1500-metre, silver in the 1000-metre and 3000-metre, and bronze in the 500-metre and 3000-metre relay. Daigle re-claimed the Overall Worlc Championship after 5-year hiatus in 1988 and defended the title in 1989 and in 1990, becoming the first person to have won five Overall World Titles, including three consecutive titles. (Two other athletes have equalled her number of World Titles since.)
At the 1992 Winter Olympics
in Albertville
, short-track speed skating was an officially registered sport. There, Sylvie won the gold medal in the 3000-metre relay, but finished in 18th place in the 500-metre after a collision with American skater Cathy Turner
during the preliminary round.
Following the Albertville Games, she started medical studies at the Université de Montréal
, but suspended it to resume her training, with the goal of participating in the 1994 Winter Olympics
in Lillehammer
. There, she won a silver medal.
Daigle left the world of skating following the Lillehammer Games in order to finish her studies, obtaining a medical degree from the Université de Montréal in 1998.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
speed skater. She is a member of Canadian Short Track relay team that won gold medal in 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...
and silver medal in 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...
. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion (for 1979, 1983, 1988–1990). She was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec
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....
.
First competing in 1979, she has participated, and triumphed, in long-track events during the Canada Winter Games that year, winning gold in the 500-metre, 1000-metre and 1500-metre competitions. The following year in Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
at the 1980 Winter Olympics
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
, Sylvie Daigle finished 19th in the 500-metre.
At Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
in the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...
, she was 20th in the 500-metre, 25th in the 1000-metre and 22nd in the 1500-metre. A pair of operations in 1985 and 1987, aimed at relieving the pain in her knees, led her to re-direct her career. Consequently, in 1987, she decided to devote herself to short-track speed skating (having won the Overall Short-track World Championships in 1979 and in 1983), which was introduced the following year as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. There, Sylvie won a gold in the 1500-metre, silver in the 1000-metre and 3000-metre, and bronze in the 500-metre and 3000-metre relay. Daigle re-claimed the Overall Worlc Championship after 5-year hiatus in 1988 and defended the title in 1989 and in 1990, becoming the first person to have won five Overall World Titles, including three consecutive titles. (Two other athletes have equalled her number of World Titles since.)
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:...
, short-track speed skating was an officially registered sport. There, Sylvie won the gold medal in the 3000-metre relay, but finished in 18th place in the 500-metre after a collision with American skater Cathy Turner
Cathy Turner
Cathy Ann Turner is an American short track speed skater, who won gold medals at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1994 Winter Olympics....
during the preliminary round.
Following the Albertville Games, she started medical studies at the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
, but suspended it to resume her training, with the goal of participating in 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...
. There, she won a silver medal.
Daigle left the world of skating following the Lillehammer Games in order to finish her studies, obtaining a medical degree from the Université de Montréal in 1998.
Titles
- All-Around World Champion in 1979, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, becoming the first five-time Overall Short track World Champion, and the first person to have won three World Championships consecutively. In 1983 World Championships, Daigle became the first person to have won all six gold medals available (Overall, 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, 3000m relay), though World Championship Titles were not awarded for relays in 1983.
- Ten-time Canadian National Champion
Awards
- Elaine Tanner (best Canadian junior athlete): 1979, 1983
- Female Athlete of the Year (Canadian Speed Skating Association): 1988, 1989, 1991
- Velma Springstead TrophyVelma Springstead TrophyThe 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...
: 1990 - Olympic Hall of Fame: 1991