Marie-Ève Drolet (born February 3, 1982) is a Canadian

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

who competed in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

where she won a bronze in the relay event. She also has six ISU World Championship medals to her name and was a two time overall World Junior Champion in 2000 and again in 2001.

Career

In 2002, she was a member of the Canadian relay team which won the bronze medal in the 3000 metre relay competition. In the 1000 m event she finished fourth and in the 1500 m contest she finished sixth. Surprisingly to most of the public she announced her retirement after the 2002 Olympics. Though Drolet was seen as a successor to

Nathalie Lambert Nathalie Brigitte Lambert, OC (born December 1, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating. She won one Gold medal and two Silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and was Canada's flag bearer at the 1992 ...

Isabelle Charest Isabelle Charest (born January 3, 1971 in Rimouski, Quebec) is a Canadian athlete and politician.Annie Perreault Annie Perreault (born 28 July 1971 in Windsor, Quebec) is a Canadian short track speed skater, who won medals in the 500 m and 3000 m relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She had already won a relay gold medal at the 1992 ...

, she herself did not feel the same way. Instead she said that "I wanted to stop. I no longer wanted to be an athlete; I wanted to be a student. I was only 20, so I wanted to do other things. I wanted to travel, make new experiences." Drolet took a six-year hiatus that saw her complete a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, with time spent in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, and

High Level, Alberta High Level is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 35) and Highway 58, approximately north of Edmonton and south of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. High Level is located wi ...

, where she worked planting trees. During this time she spent more time learning

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

all while working at a

day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. Though she watched the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

with no regrets she stated that in 2008 the life of traveling and studies she had lived felt fulfilled and that she had achieved all that she wanted to in those aspects of life, again she wanted a new challenge which was a return to speed skating. Women's 1500m, 2014 Winter Olympics, Semifinal 1 (3)

Women's 1500m, 2014 Winter Olympics, Semifinal 1 (3)

This also came with new changes which as an adult meant she no longer trained and lived at home in

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...

, instead she opted to move to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

and train and the

Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987. All this meant that she failed to qualify for the

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 ...

on home soil in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. 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 ...

though saw her qualify, despite an injury that meant she missed three World Cup events as well as the national qualifying races. On doing this Drolet said "When I was 20, I would have not realized it. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, of having taken a detour, and in the end, it all turned out well. I’m happy that I was able to accomplish the challenge that I had given myself." The following season Drolet took the year off with the birth of her first child due in January 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drolet, Marie-Eve 1982 births Living people Canadian female speed skaters Canadian female short track speed skaters Olympic short track speed skaters of Canada Olympic medalists in short track speed skating Olympic silver medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Short track speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists French Quebecers Sportspeople from Saguenay, Quebec 21st-century Canadian women