Skier Marie-Michèle Gagnon is retiring after three Olympic Games, eight World Championships and 272 World Cup starts.
Undecided about her future in the fall as she began her 14th World Cup season, Gagnon made the decision to retire in December, but she wants to start the final three World Cups of the year if she regains his confidence.
“There’s nothing better than the World Cup to announce my decision,” she said on Friday as she formalized her departure. It frees me to share my decision with everyone. It would be easy to think that my decision is related to my crashes and my results since the beginning of the season, but that’s not the case. My decision was made in December before my big crash in Cortina in January. »
Declining Confidence
Because she wasn’t feeling well, the Lac-Etchemin pack preferred to skip Friday’s downhill at the Courchevel-Méribel World Championships.
“During downhill and super-G training, I didn’t feel like myself,” she explained. I had no confidence and I’m not at a point in my career where I want to take risks.
“When I return to training I hope to regain my confidence and end the final races of the year with a light heart,” continued Gagnon. I get my best results when I’m not thinking about it. I was too focused to complete a fairy tale and fulfill my ultimate dream of snagging a downhill podium. »
Photo: AFP
At 33, Marie-Michèle Gagnon is the skier with the most World Cup starts in Canadian history.
Durability and versatility
Gagnon ended his career with two World Cup wins for a total of five podiums.
Her 272 World Cup starts and 25 World Championship starts are the highest in Canadian history for both women and men.
“I didn’t ski to set longevity records, but I managed to keep a good balance, which explains my long career,” explained the 33-year-old skier. I was serious when it came, but I also enjoyed the good times with my teammates. My switch to speed events after ten years as a technician also helped me. I was happy and that allowed me to continue. »
Her fiancé Travis Ganong, who also announced his resignation a few weeks ago, played an important role in this state of mind.
“Early on in my career I couldn’t balance competition and fun, but Trevor was very good at it. »
Best moments
If her two career wins are certainly very powerful moments, Gagnon appreciated the camaraderie with her teammates.
“The team moments will be what I’ll miss the most,” said the woman, who played her first games in Vancouver in 2010 at the age of just 20. I will always remember board game nights on the street where we laughed so hard we ended up crying. Sunrises in Chile and New Zealand are other events that I loved.
“The victories of my teammate Valérie Grenier in the giant slalom last December and of Erin Mielzynski in the slalom in 2012 are among the most beautiful moments in my career. We’re a small team, but we can compete with the best. The girls on the team are my family. »
Major Injury
As he began his transition to speed events, Gagnon suffered an injury in practice prior to leaving Lake Louise in 2017.
A torn right anterior cruciate ligament and a dislocated left shoulder ruled her out of a place at the Pyeongchang Olympics a few weeks later.
“The return took longer than I thought. You have to be 100 percent sure about the speed, otherwise you won’t start because of the high risk. It took a long time to regain trust. »
Ironically, a broken leg at the age of 18 prompted Gagnon to turn to technical disciplines as she beat the national team girls in Super-G. His best result at the Olympics remains his eighth place in Beijing 2022 in the downhill.
Important dates in Marie-Michèle Gagnon’s career:
December 13, 2008: first World Cup in La Molina (Spain)
March 10, 2012: first podium (bronze in slalom) at the World Cup in Are (Sweden)
January 12, 2014: first victory in the World Cup in the super combination of Altenmark-Zauchensee (Austria)
February 15, 2016: Bronze medal in Crans Montana in slalom (Switzerland)
February 28, 2016: Gold medal in the combination Soldeu-El Tarter (Andorra)
February 10, 2017 and February 11, 2021: best result at the World Championships with two sixth places in the combination in Saint-Moritz (Switzerland) and in the Super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy)
January 15, 2022: best downhill result with a fifth place in Zauchensee (Austria)
January 30, 2021: first podium (bronze) in speed at the Super-G of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
February 15, 2022: best result at the Olympic Games with an eighth place in the downhill in Beijing (China)