Catriona LeMay Doan
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Catriona Ann LeMay Doan (born December 23, 1970), born LeMay, is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m.
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Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of Scottish ancestry, LeMay Doan won the Olympic 500 m title at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and she repeated this feat at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, giving rise to the title "the fastest woman on ice". She was World Sprint Champion 1998 and 2002 and World Champion 500 m 1998, 1999 and 2001, and she won a 500 m bronze in 2000. At the Nagano Olympics she also won a bronze on the 1000 m. She has also won the 500 m World Cup 3 times and the 1000 m World Cup once.
On November 22, 1997 she became the first woman to break the 38-seconds barrier for 500 m, skating 37,90 in Calgary, Alberta. Within the end of the year she had tied this record once and broken it twice, ending on 37,55. Within the next four years she broke this record four more times, up to 37,22 in Calgary December 2001. No other woman has done 8 consecutive World Records in one distance.
She had a long way to go before she started fighting for Olympic gold and World Records. In the 1994 Winter Olympics, she fell on the 500 m and placed 17th on the 1500 m as her best result. Prior to the Nagano Games she was training with her teammate and rival Susan Auch, being coached by Susan's brother, Derrick Auch. In Nagano Susan Auch placed 2nd behind Catriona on the 500 m. She is now coached by the Canadian sprint coach, former Olympic speed skater Sean Ireland.
LeMay Doan is married to Bart Doan - a rodeo cowboy and icemaker at the Calgary Olympic Oval. She retired from competitive skating in 2003, and in 2004 gave birth to her first child. She was most recently seen as a commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
External link
- Catriona LeMay Doan Official Site (http://www.catrionalemaydoan.com/)nl:Catriona LeMay-Doan