Eric Lamaze (born April 17, 1968) is a Canadian retired
showjumper
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes sho ...
and
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 ...
champion.
He won individual gold and team silver at the
2008 Beijing Olympics, riding his famed horse
Hickstead Hickstead may refer to:
* All England Jumping Course at Hickstead
The All England Jumping Course at Hickstead, known widely as Hickstead, is an equestrian centre in West Sussex, England, principally known for its showjumping. It hosts two inte ...
. Lamaze has won three Olympic medals, as well as four
Pan American Games medals and one
World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...
bronze. He is considered one of Canada's best showjumpers.
Early life
Lamaze was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec.
He started riding at age twelve and worked in exchange for time in the saddle.
He was considered a promising junior rider,
and trained under Roger Deslauriers,
George Morris, Jay Hayes and Hugh Graham.
Career
1991–2006
Lamaze began competing at the grand prix level in 1991
or 1992.
A year later, he was named to the Canadian equestrian team.
His first major competition as a national team member was the 1994 World Equestrian Games.
Lamaze was named to the Canadian team for the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, but lost his place and received a four-year suspension after testing positive for
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
. Arbitrator Ed Ratushny overturned the suspension, although Lamaze had already missed the Atlanta Games when the ruling was delivered.
Lamaze rebuilt his career and ascended the rankings, being again regarded as a key member of the Canadian team for the
Sydney Games. However he tested positive for a banned stimulant, which resulted in his removal from the team and facing a lifetime ban. Right afterwards, a despondent Lamaze contemplated suicide and while drunk he smoked a cigarette laced with cocaine. Forty-eight hours later, the test for the banned stimulant was reversed on appeal, however Lamaze then tested positive for cocaine which would also have meant a lifetime ban. Arbitrator Ed Ratushny overturned the cocaine test, but the Canadian Olympic Committee refused to reinstate Lamaze on the Canadian team.
2007–2011: Hickstead years
In 2007, Lamaze became the first Canadian jumping rider in 20 years to make the top ten in the world rankings. He was also the first North American jumping rider to exceed one million in prize money a year, a third of these earnings the result of winning the CN International Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows.
The CN International Grand Prix was Lamaze's first major win with Hickstead.
Lamaze competed in the
Beijing Olympics, riding the
stallion Hickstead Hickstead may refer to:
* All England Jumping Course at Hickstead
The All England Jumping Course at Hickstead, known widely as Hickstead, is an equestrian centre in West Sussex, England, principally known for its showjumping. It hosts two inte ...
.
He was awarded a silver medal after a strong performance in the
team event. Lamaze went on to win a gold medal in the
individual show jumping event of the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the
Shatin Equestrian Venue in Hong Kong as a result of a jump off between himself riding Hickstead and the Swedish rider
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (born 2 June 1962 in Lund, Sweden) is a Swedish show jumper. He won a silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in the individual jumping, and also a silver medal in the team jumping event at the 2004 Summer ...
, riding Ninja.
In the January 2009 Rolex World Rankings for show jumping by the
International Equestrian Federation
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports.
The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...
, Lamaze was named to the top spot for the first time. In October 2009, Lamaze won the €120,000 Equita Masters in Lyon, France, riding Hickstead.
Lamaze returned to first place in the Rolex Rankings for July 2010. In July that year, he had two major wins with Hickstead, at the
Aachen World Equestrian Festival and the Spruce Meadows Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
In 2011, Lamaze and Hickstead won the €200,000 Rome Grand Prix, the €200,000 La Baule Grand Prix, the Spruce Meadows Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the €23,000 1.55m in Rotterdam, the $1 million CN International Grand Prix, and the €100,000 Barcelona Grand Prix.
2012–2022
After the death of Hickstead in 2011, Lamaze selected the nine-year-old mare Derly Chin De Muze to ride 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 ...
.
In July 2016, he was again named to
Canada's Olympic team, serving as the leader following
Ian Millar
Ian Millar, CM (born 6 January 1947) is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete for show jumping. He is a two-time winner of the Show Jumping World Cup, and an Olympic silver medalist. Due to his longevity and accomplishments, he is often nickname ...
's decision to not compete again. Lamaze rode the Hanoverian mare,
Fine Lady 5. As a member of Canada's jumping team, he competed in a climactic jump-off for the bronze medal, which was ultimately won by the German team. Later, he won a bronze medal in the individual jumping event, a single knocked rail preventing him from earning a second gold medal.
In 2017, Lamaze was diagnosed with
brain cancer, which he revealed to the public in 2019. He continued competing for some time, winning a gold medal at the Spruce Meadows Masters tournament in June of 2019. In 2021, he announced that he would not seek to be part of the
Canadian Olympic team for the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, saying that while his health was stable he felt there were too many risks. Lamaze's battle with brain cancer continued, and on March 31, 2022 he announced that he would be retiring from competition in order to focus on his health. He planned to remain as the Canadian showjumping team's chef d'équipe. After announcing his retirement, he said: "I've always said that I will retire under my own terms when the time is right. The situation with my health has forced me to make the decision earlier than I had envisioned, but the silver lining is that I still have the will to win and can contribute to the Canadian team and the sport I love through my new role."
International Championship Results
See also
*
Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900 with the exception of 1980, whi ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamaze, Eric
1968 births
Canadian male equestrians
Canadian show jumping riders
Canadian sportspeople in doping cases
Doping cases in equestrian
Equestrians at the 2007 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2011 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2015 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics
French Quebecers
Living people
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic equestrians of Canada
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Olympic medalists in equestrian
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Sportspeople from King, Ontario
Sportspeople from Montreal
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Pan American Games medalists in equestrian
Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
20th-century Canadian people
21st-century Canadian people