Almost two years ago, Several Quebecers cried in their hearts with one of their beloved children. Justine Dufour-Lapointe had just fallen badly on the track at the Beijing Olympics. But the hard worker insisted on finishing the event even though she was already certain she wouldn’t get to the podium, offering a great lesson in resilience.
At the Radio-Canada microphone, the youngest of the three sisters struggled to hold back her tears. With watery eyes, she admitted she never imagined her third appearance at the Games would end this way, eight years after wearing the gold medal around her neck.
But the months passed and Justine Dufour-Lapointe found that energy, that smile and that determination that had charmed her fans since her debut at the age of 16.
For good reason: the skier won the title in March Champion of the overall ranking of the Freeride World Tour, the Freeski World Championship. In his first season on the race track no less.
Justine Dufour-Lapointe was at the bottom of the list at the Beijing Games. Archive photo, Didier Desbusschere
Justine Dufour-Lapointe celebrated her overall championship title in the Freeride World Tour last March. Photo courtesy of Freeride World
“How we get up”
This transition from moguls to freeskiing allowed her to “reconnect with the mountain” and “rediscover some of her passion for skiing,” she told the Journal on Wednesday. What she had lost a little after 12 years in moguls (and what is “normal,” she adds).
Justine Dufour-Lapointe Photo Agency QMI, Toma Iczkovits
“I think back to this Justine with a lot of love and gratitude,” she explained about the strong feelings that filled her at the end of the race track in Beijing. She was real, authentic on TV.
“It was a great life lesson. They say that when we fail, we need to remember not how we fall, but how we get back up. And I’m living proof.”
A different kind of strong emotion
If freestyle skiing is already an extreme sport, freeskiing or “freeride” takes the expression to a whole new level with its huge mountains and steep slopes surrounded by rocks where skiers follow their own line of sight in acrobatic figures.
Pictures of Dufour-Lapointe runs, like this one below, speak for themselves (and give you goosebumps!)
But nothing has been seen yet, warns the 29-year-old Montrealer, who this year wants to become the first woman to combine “a 360° and a backflip” in the same descent.
The other problem, far from the slopes
So you will have understood: Even if we can imagine that she has become a little jaded after winning the title in her first year, she is far from that. She has her sights set on the championship once again in this six-event season, which begins on January 26 in Spain.
And this despite all the challenges that lie ahead of her and which, despite the dangerous nature of her sport, seem to find her increasingly distant from the mountains.
Justine Dufour-Lapointe Photo Agency QMI, Toma Iczkovits
Because unlike moguls, freeskiing is not “connected”. In her new career, Justine Dufour-Lapointe receives no support from the Canadian government: she has to find her own sources of funding.
“Peace of Mind”
Although she welcomes the contribution of her current sponsors, she still recognizes that she must take other steps to complete her budget.
The skier estimates that a day of training costs $500. In particular, the costs of air travel (often just under “US$2,000 for a trip to Europe”), accommodation and meals are not taken into account.
Justine Dufour-Lapointe (center). Photo courtesy of Freeride World
The prize money in freeskiing is around $5,000 for a win.
“I would like to find [d’autres commanditaires] who believe in my big dream of winning the championship again and want to accompany me to give me peace of mind,” she emphasizes.
A return to the games?
Could this “big dream” become even bigger if freeskiing joins the Olympic family in 2030, as the discipline’s leaders want?
In short: could Justine Dufour-Lapointe be taking part in the Games for the fourth time, in a different sport and eight years after that famous disappointment in Beijing?
“No, I don’t think I’ll make it to 2030, let’s calm our nerves!” she says with a laugh. But I see myself as a moderator or commentator, that’s clear!”