Sylvie Daigle (born December 1, 1962) is a

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 ...

speed skater. She is a member of the Canadian short track relay team that won gold at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

and silver at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion (for 1979, 1983, 1988–1990). She was born in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

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 ...

Career

First competing in 1979, she has participated, and triumphed, in long-track events during the

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

that year, winning gold in the 500-metre, 1000-metre and 1500-metre competitions. The following year in Lake Placid at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

, Sylvie Daigle finished 19th in the 500-metre. At

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

in the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

, she was 20th in the 500-metre, 25th in the 1000-metre and 22nd in the 1500-metre. A pair of operations in 1985 and 1987, aimed at relieving the pain in her knees, led her to re-direct her career. Consequently, in 1987, she decided to devote herself to short-track speed skating (having won the Overall Short-track World Championships in 1979 and in 1983), which was introduced the following year as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. There, Sylvie won a gold in the 1500-metre, silver in the 1000-metre and 3000-metre, and bronze in the 500-metre and 3000-metre relay. Daigle re-claimed the Overall World Championship after 5-year hiatus in 1988 and defended the title in 1989 and in 1990, becoming the first person to have won five Overall World Titles, including three consecutive titles. (Two other athletes have equalled her number of World Titles since.) At the

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, short-track speed skating was an officially registered sport. There, Sylvie won the gold medal in the 3000-metre relay, but finished in 18th place in the 500-metre after a collision with American skater

Cathy Turner Cathy Ann Turner (born April 10, 1962, in Rochester, New York) is an American short track speed skater, who won gold medals at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1994 Winter Olympics. Turner was the American short-track champion in 1979, but short-t ...

during the preliminary round. Following the Albertville Games, she started medical studies at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

, but suspended it to resume her training, with the goal of participating in the

in Lillehammer. There, she won a silver medal. Daigle left the world of skating following the Lillehammer Games in order to finish her studies, obtaining a medical degree from the Université de Montréal in 1998.

Titles

*All-Around World Champion in 1979, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990,http://sports123.com/sts/ww.html World Short Track Championships Overall Standings becoming the first five-time Overall Short track World Champion, and the first person to have won three World Championships consecutively. In 1983 World Championships, Daigle became the first person to have won all six gold medals available (Overall, 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, 3000m relay), though World Championship Titles were not awarded for relays in 1983. *Ten-time Canadian National Champion

Awards

*Elaine Tanner (best Canadian junior athlete): 1979, 1983 *Female Athlete of the Year (Canadian Speed Skating Association): 1988, 1989, 1991 *

Velma Springstead Trophy The Velma Springstead Trophy is an award presented annually to Canada's outstanding female athlete. It is named in honour of track athlete Velma Springstead whose career ended prematurely when she died from pneumonia in 1927 when only 20 years old ...

: 1990 *Olympic Hall of Fame: 1991

References

External links

Library and Archives Canada page about SylvieCanada Games page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daigle, Sylvie 1962 births Canadian female speed skaters Canadian female short track speed skaters French Quebecers Living people Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in short track speed skating Olympic silver medalists for Canada Short track speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Sherbrooke 20th-century Canadian women