Joannie Rochette

Bronze medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, runner-up at the 2009 World Championships and six-time Canadian champion, Joannie Rochette is undoubtedly one of Canada’s most successful figure skaters.

Hailing from île Dupas in Québec’s Lanaudière region, her combination of power, perfectionism, passion and grace captures everyone’s attention when she is performing on the ice. Lacing up her skates for the first time when she was just shy of two, Rochette showed her tremendous potential in the early 2000s when she won the Canadian novice title, followed by the junior title.

In 2005, Rochette clinched her first Canadian senior crown, making her the very first female skater to win the national title in every category. She pursued a brilliant career on the international stage, rewarded with 11 medals on the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix circuit and 3 medals at the Four Continents Championships. However, she achieved her biggest dream when she competed at her first Olympics in 2006, in Torino. She finished 5th, exceeding her goal of ranking among the top ten.

Four years later, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the skater inspired an entire nation with her exceptional display of strength and courage. Despite personal tragedy striking a few days before she competed, she climbed the third step of the podium. Following her performance, Rochette was chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the Olympic Closing Ceremony. For her determination and humility in adversity, she was named Canadian Press’ Female Athlete of the Year (2010) and co-recipient of the Terry Fox Prize that same year.

Never shying away from giving back, Rochette has collaborated with organizations like World Vision (Peru in 2009 and Honduras in 2011), Right to Play (Rwanda 2013), as well as contributing her time to the iheartmom campaign (University of Ottawa), the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Montreal Heart Institute, the Bruny Surin Foundation and We Day.

In 2013, she voiced the character of Rochelle in Les avions, the French version of Planes, Disney’s popular animated movie. Rochette joined the Stars On Ice tour in the spring 2005 performed in annual tours in Québec and around the world, particularly in Asia and Europe. She graduated from Medicine at McGill University in 2020 and is now pursuing her residency in Anesthesiology at Université de Montréal.