Christine Girard (born January 3, 1985) is a Canadian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

from

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

(currently living in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

). She competes in the 63 kg division. Girard was the first Canadian female to win a medal in weightlifting when she won gold at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She also won

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

titles in her weight class and has won multiple medals in each of those competitions. She holds the Commonwealth games record and the Pan-American Games record in the Clean and Jerk.

Career

Weightlifting became a passion for Girard and her three sisters when they moved to Quebec. She began training early and entered her first provincial competition when she was 12. Girard became a member of the national team in 2001 at the age of 16 when she competed in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In 2002, she won a bronze medal at the

which she improved upon in 2006 with a silver. At the 2006 University World Championships she won the bronze medal. She next won a silver at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

. Girard then finished 8th at the

2007 World Weightlifting Championships The Royal World Weightlifting Championships 2007 were held at the 700th Anniversary Sports Complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The event took place from September 17 to September 26, 2007. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Ranking by Big (Tot ...

with a total of 221 kg. Girard then entered the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, she improved upon this by finishing fourth, with a total of 228 kg and 3 kg away from a medal. Christine Girard 2010

Girard built upon these achievements by finally winning a crown as champion when she won the gold medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and completed her Commonwealth Games medal collection. En route to winning her gold Girard set a Commonwealth Games record in the snatch at 105 kg, in the clean and jerk she added an additional 130 kg for a total of 235 kg which were also Commonwealth records. Girard next conquered the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

when she won the gold in her weight class in Guadalajara. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Girard participated in the women's 63 kg. She finished fourth in the snatch portion, then second in the clean and jerk, lifting 133 kg. Her total of 236 kg put her third, behind Maiya Maneza and Svetlana Tsarukayeva. She became the first Canadian woman, and third Canadian overall, to win a medal in weightlifting. Girard said that winning the Olympic medal was one of her top two best moments in life, "It is very hard to describe how I feel. Four years ago in Beijing I came fourth, and since then I have spent the past four years training through injuries and various changes in my life to get to this moment. All I have been thinking about is getting on the podium. Now I have reached it. It feels good. I should say my wedding comes close, but this is completely different.'' In July 2016, the

International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. The IWF was founded in 1905, and has 192 Member Federations. The IWF President is Mohammed H ...

(IWF) reported that the IOC reanalyses of samples taken in 2012 uncovered prohibited anabolic agents in both the gold medallist and silver medallist. These were confirmed in 2018, making Girard the first Canadian gold medallist in female weightlifting since its introduction in 2000. This was confirmed in April 2018. After a reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August 2016, the IWF reported that silver medallist

Irina Nekrassova Irina Nekrassova (born 1 March 1988) is a female weightlifter from Kazakhstan. Career At the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships she ranked 9th in the 69 kg category, lifting 228 kg in total. She initially won the silver medal in ...

had used a prohibited substance. This was confirmed in 2018 and Girard was awarded a bronze medal, preceding her previous standing of first female Canadian weightlifting medallist to 2008. Girard received both the Beijing bronze and London gold medals at a ceremony in Ottawa on December 3, 2018. In 2019, Girard was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ...

's Hall of Fame.

Coaching

Girard began coaching other athletes in weightlifting after her move to BC while she was preparing for the

. Upon her return from the Olympic Games, Girard began coaching in a greater capacity. She started her own weightlifting club – the Kilophile Weightlifting Club – and offers coaching services to other fitness centres notably in

Crossfit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

Gyms.

Anti-Doping Advocacy

Girard is involved in anti-doping advocacy work at both the domestic and international level. Girard is on the board of directors at th
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
the

's Anti-Doping Commission and is an Education Ambassador with the

International Testing Agency The International Testing Agency, often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers ...

Personal life

Girard was born in

Elliot Lake Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

but moved with her family to

in 1992 when she was seven. She then moved to White Rock,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in January 2010, before returning to Quebec in 2018, this time settling in the city of

in Canada's

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

. Weightlifting was a family affair for Girard and her family continues to hold provincial and local roles for the sport in Quebec. On June 11, 2011 she married her coach Walter Bailey. She has three children.

Occupational Therapy

In 2021, Girard received her Masters of Health Sciences Degree in

Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. Girard is a practicing Occupational Therapist with Modern OT Occupational Services, and is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario and Association canadienne des ergothérapeutes.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Christine 1985 births Living people Canadian female weightlifters Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada French Quebecers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in weightlifting Olympic weightlifters for Canada People from Elliot Lake Sportspeople from Rouyn-Noranda People from White Rock, British Columbia Sportspeople from British Columbia Sportspeople from Quebec Sportspeople from Ontario Strength sportspeople from Ontario Weightlifters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2007 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2011 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian women Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games