Gaétan Boucher
Gaétan T. Boucher OC CQ (born May 10, 1958) is a Canadian former speed skater. He competed in the 1500 m, 1000 m, 500 m, Sprint, and Overall events.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Charlesbourg, Quebec City, Quebec | May 10, 1958||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Skating Club Norbec Skating Club Montréal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Boucher competed for Canada at both the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York and at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. He would compete in the 1984 games after coming back from a broken ankle the year before.[1] He won a silver medal at the 1980 games, as well as two gold's and a bronze at the 1984 games. He won the silver in the 1000 m, the two golds in 1500 m and 1000 m, and the bronze in 500 m. Boucher became the first Canadian man to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics and was the record holder for winning the most medals for a Canadian athlete at one Olympics.[2]
Boucher was chosen to compete for Canada at the 1976 Winter Olympics, but he finished in ninth place in the 1000 m event. He would also compete for Canada in short-track speed skating at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. He would participate in the 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, and 1982. Over the course of these competitions, Boucher won two gold medals and five silver medals.[3]
On April 11, 1984, Boucher was awarded the Officer of the Order of Canada.[4] He would also win the Lou Marsh Award and be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.[5][6]
After retiring, Boucher started designing hockey skates for Bauer.[7]
References
change- ↑ "Gaetan Boucher: Memories of Sarajevo". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Speed skater Boucher breaks Canada's golden duck". Olympics. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships (368)". Olympedia. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Mr. GaÚtan Boucher". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Canada's Top Athletes". Lou Marsh Award. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Gaétan Boucher". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Gaétan Boucher". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 6, 2024.