Josée Chouinard (born August 21, 1969) is a Canadian former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. She is the 1996 Champions Series Final bronze medallist and a three-time

Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

champion (1991, 1993–1994). She finished in the top ten at two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, 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 held i ...

Personal life

Chouinard was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In August 1997, she married Canadian pair skater

Jean-Michel Bombardier Jean-Michel Bombardier (born August 22, 1970) is a Canadian former pair skater. With Michelle Menzies, he won two national titles and finished in the top ten at three World Championships. Personal life Bombardier was born in Montreal, Quebe ...

. Their twins,

Fiona Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name ''Fíona'' means 'of wine', being the genitive of 'wine'. It was coined by Scottish writer James Macpherson. Initially, the name was confined to ...

and Noah, were born in January 2005. She and her husband separated 2006.

Career

Chouinard began skating following the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

, which she saw on television. She won silver at the 1988

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...

, gold at the 1989

Karl Schäfer Memorial The Karl Schäfer Memorial (other titles: Asko Cup (1987), Vienna Cup (1994), or Vienna Trophy) was a senior-level international figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Medals were awarded in four disciplines: single skating, men's si ...

, and gold at the 1990 Skate Canada International. After taking her first national title, in January 1991, she was assigned to the 1991 World Championships in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany. Ranked 8th in the short program and 5th in the free skate, she would finish 6th overall at her first ISU Championship. Subsequently, she won the Canadian figure skating championships in 1993 and 1994. Chouinard finished as high as 5th at the World Championships (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

). She competed at the

and

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

, finishing 9th on both occasions. Chouinard began her coaching career in 1992, in

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

. She later coached at the Granite Club in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

(from 2002 to 2017) and at the Richmond Training Centre in

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill ( 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and the 27th most populous municipality in Canada. Ric ...

Results

''GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)'' Chouinard also won gold at the 2000 Sears Canadian Open.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chouinard, Josee 1969 births Canadian female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic figure skaters for Canada Figure skaters from Montreal 20th-century Canadian sportswomen