Our list of the 25 most dominant Quebec athletes over the past 25 years

They made you scream in your living room or in the stands. Their smile after victory filled your heart with joy. You may have even shed a little tear with them. In short, they have made you proud and as the present century soon celebrates its 25th^e birthday, The Journal wanted to celebrate them. Here is our list of the 25 most dominant Quebec athletes of the last 25 years.

A list, you will see, in which hockey may have been less omnipresent than in the past. But they are there all the same, the big names of our national sport who have experienced collective or individual glory.

They are surrounded by other professional athletes whose successes have made Quebec shine throughout the world, but above all, by these amateur athletes who have shone on the biggest stages, during the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the World Championships which animated the first quarter of the 21st^e century.

Intense debates?

Drawing up such a list is not easy, especially since the last 25 years have been rich in Quebec sporting successes. In order to establish the fairest possible ranking – although we have no doubt that it will be the subject of intense debates in your homes, at restaurants or elsewhere! –, we surveyed the entire sports team of the Journal. But also, some of our retired journalists, who covered many of the major sporting events in which our athletes distinguished themselves.

You will find the list of contributors below. In total, each of them sent a list of 25 names. A first place was worth 25 points, a second, 24, and so on until 25^e rank of each individual ranking which was worth one point. It is thanks to the total points accumulated by each athlete that we determined their final position.

Each individual list was established on these three criteria

1. The athlete had to resonate and shine in his sport, in the sense that his name had to be one of the first mentioned when this discipline was discussed (or even this position, as in the case of a goalkeeper ).
2. The athlete must of course have accumulated titles or victories, whether collective or individual. In short, the athlete must have been part of a track record that would make the majority of his opponents dream.
3. The number of participants practicing the discipline in which the athlete excelled.

Here is the result. Happy reading… and both congratulations and thanks to these athletes who shone while making us dream!

– Jessica Lapinski, with the collaboration of Jean-Nicolas Blanchet, Etienne Bouchard, Richard Boutin, Stéphane Cadorette, Nicolas Cloutier, Marc de Foy, Kevin Dubé, Vincent Duquette, Pierre Durocher, Marc- Antoine Malo, Denis Poissant, Benoît Rioux and François-David Rouleau.

25. Roberto Luongo – Hockey

One of the most recognized goaltenders of his generation, Luongo ranks fourth among the winningest goalkeepers in NHL history, with 489 wins. His long career, which saw him defend the colors of the Islanders, Panthers and Canucks, spanned 19 seasons, from 1999 to 2019. Over the years, the Saint-Léonard athlete took part in six All-Star Games, finished second in 2007 for the Hart Trophy awarded to the most valuable player, and won the William Jennings, which rewards the goalie who allowed the fewest of goals in a season, in 2011. That year, he also led the Canucks to the Stanley Cup final.

24. Félix Auger-Aliassime – Tennis

Auger-Aliassime made tennis history in 2015, becoming at 15 the youngest player to break through to the top 800. If his career has perhaps not yet taken him to the peak of his potential, the Montrealer has still achieved several exploits that have made Quebec talk about across the tennis world. “FAA” has won five ATP titles to date, including three in a row in October 2022, in addition to having won the Davis Cup that same year, as well as a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Games Olympics in 2024. The Quebecer also reached sixth place in the world, his best ranking to date.

23. Marianne St-Gelais – Short track speed skating

In 2010, the speed skater from Saint-Félicien won over sports fans as much with her prowess on the Vancouver ice as with her candor in front of the cameras. At these Games, the young athlete won silver in the 3000 meter relay. She also celebrated her 20th birthday by finishing second in the 500 meters. The following Games were not crowned with as much success, but St-Gelais can boast of having added another silver medal – in the relay – in Sochi, as well as having accumulated 11 medals at the Worlds in throughout his career.

22. Émilie Heymans – Diving

In 2012, the Saint-Lambert athlete made Canadian Olympic history by becoming the country’s first diver to win four Olympic medals. That year in London, Heymans won bronze on the three-meter springboard, alongside Jennifer Abel. A distinction which was added to his silver medal in the synchronized 10 meters (Sydney), to that of bronze in the same discipline won in Athens, and to his second individual place in the 10 meters in Beijing. The diver also holds three medals at the Worlds, including gold obtained at the tower in 2003.

21. Alex Harvey – Cross-country skiing

The cross-country skier from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges has never experienced Olympic glory, but he made skiers in Scandinavian countries tremble during most of the 2010 decade. His glorious record, outside the Olympics, is studded with a title in the 50km mass start at the 2017 Worlds, as well as a victory in the team sprint six years earlier. Added to this are a silver and two bronze medals. And no one who was there that day will forget his second place on the Plains of Abraham, in the 15 km pursuit, in what was the final World Cup of his career.