Émilie-Joane Heymans (born December 14, 1981) is a Canadian diver. She was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium and raised in Greenfield Park, a suburb of

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 ...

. Heymans has won four Olympic medals, two bronze and two silver. She was the first female diver to win medals in four consecutive Olympic games and the first Canadian to win medals in four consecutive Olympics. Heymans also is a one time world champion and has won four Pan American championships as well as one

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

championship. In addition she has won multiple medals in all three of these competitions.

Career

Before becoming a diver, Heymans was a gymnast.Television SRC, ''Pekin 2008'', 'Plus Vite, Plus Haut, Plus Fort' segment (autobiographical monologue), Émilie Heymans, Aug 21, 2008 She began diving in 1993, at age 11, after her coaches told her she did not have the physique to be a gymnast. Emilie made her international debut with Anne Montminy at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, where they won a silver medal in the 10m synchronized diving event. Heymans then set her sights on the 10m platform and became the 2003 World Champion in Barcelona. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she proved herself again in the 10m synchronized diving event when she, along with teammate Blythe Hartley, took home the bronze medal. Going into the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

she failed to qualify with partner Marie-Eve Marleau in the platform synchro event, which was considered a huge upset. In order to qualify for the 2008 games, Heymans had to re-focus on the solo platform, an event where she had failed to medal in two Olympics in a row. Heymans won the silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the 10m individual event, and only a solid final dive by the Chinese competitor kept her off of the top of the podium. This medal secured her recognition as an outstanding diver in both individual and synchronized diving events. She had won medals in three consecutive Olympics, achieved by only five other Canadian Olympians. The years of abuse her body suffered as a result of platform diving caused pernicious neck and shoulder injuries, which compelled a switch to the springboard. In 2009, Heymans won the silver medal at the World Championships in Rome in the 3M springboard. In 2011, at the World Championships in Shanghai, Heymans, with partner Jennifer Abel, won the silver medal in the 3m synchro event. At the 2012 Olympics, Émilie became the first Canadian Summer Olympian to win a medal in four straight Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 3m synchronized diving, along with partner Abel. Sylvie Bernier, a CBC Sports analyst and former gold medal diver, said of Heymans that "Emilie has won a medal at four straight Games and with three different partners. She has a quiet confidence and always believes she can do it. She doesn't need to tell the whole world." Heymans herself said of her record-setting medal, "It's awesome. I'm really happy that I was able to win my fourth medal with Jennifer. We worked really hard over the last two years." In January 2013, Heymans retired from the sport.

Personal life

Born in

, Heymans moved with her family to

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, ...

after her mother competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

as a fencer. Her mother, Marie-Paule Van Eyck, was an Olympic fencer for Belgium.

Competitive history

* Heymans won a silver medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in 10 m platform synchro with partner Anne Montminy. * Heymans won a gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain in the 10 m platform. * Heymans won a bronze medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in the 10 m platform synchro with partner Blythe Hartley. * Heymans won silver at the

in the women's 10 metre platform event. This was the first individual Olympic medal for Heymans.CBC Television, ''Olympic Morning'', August 21, 2008. * Heymans won bronze at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the women's 3 metre springboard synchronized diving event, with partner Jennifer Abel.

References

External links