Olivier Jean (born March 15, 1984) is a three time Olympian who represented Canada in both short and long track speed skating. Olivier Jean is a gold medalist from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games in the men's 5000m relay. He 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 ...

, racing internationally from 2002 to 2015 and switched to

long track speed skating 　 Long-track speed skating, usually simply referred to as speed skating, is the Olympic discipline of speed skating where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as ice skating marathon, ...

, competing internationally from 2015 to 2018. Olivier competed at his second Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 in short track speed skating, and for his third game appearance, switched to long track speed skating, competing in the mass start at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games. His appearance is well-known for his

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

and for listening to

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, which he says makes him skate faster.

Career

Jean skates in every distance for the Canadian team and is a member of the national short track relay team. He helped the team to a silver at the 2007 World Championships. As well Jean skated to a bronze at the recent 2009 World Championships. Olivier Jean is a member of the Canadian team and relay team in 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 ...

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 ...

. Jean qualified for the 1500m final on February 13 after judges ruled he was interfered with during his semi-final heat. Jean would go on to finish 4th in the final just missing out on a medal. On February 26, he won a gold medal in the 5000 m relay along with

Charles Hamelin Charles Hamelin (born April 14, 1984) is a Canadian retired short track speed skater. In a competitive career that spanned nearly twenty years on the international circuit, Hamelin participated in five Winter Olympic Games ( 2006, 2010, 2014, ...

François Hamelin François Hamelin (born 18 December 1986) is a Canadian former short track speed skater from Sainte-Julie, Quebec, residing in Montreal. He is the younger brother of acclaimed Canadian short tracker Charles Hamelin. His father Yves Hamelin is ...

François-Louis Tremblay François-Louis Tremblay (born November 13, 1980) is a Canadian retired short track speed skater and five-time Olympic medallist who competed at the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics. François-Louis Tremblay is one of only three Canadian men ...

and

Guillaume Bastille Guillaume Bastille (born 21 July 1985) is a Canadian short track speed skater from Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. He competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in the men's 1500 metre short track and the men's 5000 metre relay competition ...

. At the 2012 World Championships Jean won gold in the 500 m, he followed this with a gold medal in the men's relay final where he skated the anchor leg. He also won his first overall medal at the World Championships when he finished with the bronze. During the 2011 World Team Championships Jean was the victim of a bizarre sabotage event, when

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Simon Cho Simon Cho (born October 7, 1991) is a retired Korean American short track speed skater who was a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Simon Cho is currently the head coach at Potomac Speed Skating Club. Since ...

damaged his skate blade after the United States were already eliminated. This caused the Canadians to be unable to skate for gold, leaving them in the bronze position. The events came to light at an inquiry into the actions of U.S. coach Jae Su Chun in 2012. At the 2017 World Speed Skating Championships in Gangneung, South Korea Jean won a bronze medal at the mass start event.

2018 Olympics

Now solely focused on long track speed skating, Jean after finishing in the top 16 in the mass start event at the

2017–18 ISU Speed Skating World Cup The 2017–18 ISU Speed Skating World Cup, officially the ''ISU World Cup Speed Skating 2017–2018'', was a series of international speed skating competitions that ran the entire season. Compared to previous seasons, there were fewer competition ...

, pre-qualified for the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

, South Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean, Olivier 1984 births Living people Canadian male speed skaters Canadian male short track speed skaters Olympic speed skaters of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic short track speed skaters of Canada Olympic medalists in short track speed skating Short track speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists People from Terrebonne, Quebec 21st-century Canadian people