Dominique Maltais (born 9 November 1980) is a Canadian
snowboarder
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
, specialising in
snowboard cross
Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...
. She is a two-time
Olympic medallist, winning a bronze medal at the
2006 Torino Games and a silver medal at the
2014 Sochi Games. She also competed at the
2010 Vancouver Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, where she failed to reach the final. At the
FIS Snowboarding World Championships
The FIS Snowboarding World Championships is the world championship organized by the FIS for Snowboarding. It was first held in 1996 and is now held every odd year. The championship events include Big air, Half-pipe, Parallel giant slalom, Parallel ...
, she won a bronze medal in 2011 and a silver medal in 2013. She is the 2012
Winter X Games
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...
champion,
and has won the Crystal Globe as the overall FIS World Cup champion in snowboard cross five times, in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Snowboarding career
Born in
Petite-Rivière-Saint-François
Petite-Rivière-Saint-François is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River. It is considered the gateway to the Charlevoix region.
It is named after the Petite rivière Saint-François, and home to Le Massif ski resort.
...
, Maltais started competing in 2002, and won the Canadian Championship in 2003 and again in 2004. Internationally, she came 5th in the World Cup during her rookie year (2003–04) with 2 podium finishes that year. In her second year (2004–05), she won the European Cup and came in 8th in the World Cup. During that World Cup she had two podium finishes, including her first gold. In the 2005 World Championships, Maltais finished 4th, letting her set her sights on an
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
medal in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, the first time Snowboard Cross would be contested at the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
.
In Turin, Maltais was in a final of four with fellow
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
Maëlle Ricker
Maëlle Danica Ricker (; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian retired snowboarder, who specialised in snowboard cross. She won an Olympic gold medal in the snowboard cross event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, to become the first Cana ...
. Ricker fell in the early stages, and Maltais crashed out of a corner farther down. After the other two racers (
Tanja Frieden
Tanja Frieden (born 6 February 1976, in Bern) is a Swiss snowboarder. She won a gold medal in the inaugural Snowboard Cross competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
In the Snowboard Cross finals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, Frieden was in seco ...
and
Lindsey Jacobellis
Lindsey Jacobellis (born August 19, 1985) is an American snowboarder from Roxbury, Connecticut. The most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time, she dominated the sport for almost two decades as a five-time World Champion and ten- ...
) finished, Maltais was able to get up and finish the race, earning her the bronze. Dominique had a disappointing
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
falling in both of her qualifying runs and therefore did not qualify for the finals.
Maltais followed a disappointing Olympics with a successful start to the
2010–11 FIS Snowboard World Cup leading the World Cup snowboard cross category heading into the
2011 World Snowboarding Championships. There she managed to take third place for the bronze medal. Maltais finished the World Cup season as the overall and Crystal Globe champion in her category. This was her second overall title having previously achieved the feat in 2005–06.
At the
XVI Winter X Games Maltais won her first medal which came as the gold and X Games champion in 2012. She had followed this with several successes on the
World Cup tour that year, including a home nation victory at
Blue Mountain. This victory, among others, helped propel her to her second straight Crystal Globe championship as the overall winner on the FIS tour.
Success continued further into the following season where Maltais again won several events, in the early stages.
Maltais would also find further accomplishment by winning the silver at the
2013 World Snowboarding Championships which took place in her home province of
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 ...
. There she would place second, finishing familiarly behind teammate Ricker who won her first World Championship gold medal there.
Maltais went into the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
as a strong medal contender with her results on the
World Cup that year. At the Olympics she qualified through easily, Maltais was looking for some redemption from the previous Olympics where she crashed out in Vancouver. She qualified through from the semi's when, after a tough battle for the second position,
Lindsey Jacobellis
Lindsey Jacobellis (born August 19, 1985) is an American snowboarder from Roxbury, Connecticut. The most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time, she dominated the sport for almost two decades as a five-time World Champion and ten- ...
crashed when she was way out in front. This paved the way for Maltais to enter the final. In that event
Eva Samkova who had dominated the event, from her fastest qualifying position through to the final, won gold but an elated Maltais followed her through for silver. The medal lifted a weight off of her and she said that "It's a good revenge for Vancouver. I wanted to prove to the world that I could do better than in Vancouver. I'm so so happy it's done and I made it and I finished on the podium."
Personal
Her father is the mayor of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, her birthplace and hometown where she also fulfills her career as a firefighter.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltais, Dominique
1980 births
Living people
French Quebecers
Olympic snowboarders of Canada
Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Canadian female snowboarders
Sportspeople from Quebec
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Olympic medalists in snowboarding
Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
People from Capitale-Nationale
X Games athletes