Weightlifter Maude Charron and freestyle skier Mikaël Kingsbury left from 51e Gala Sports Québec with the most prestigious awards.
• Also read: Winners of the 51st Gala Sports Québec
They were respectively named female and male athlete of the year at the international level during the gala which took place Thursday evening.
Charron, who is originally from Sainte-Luce near Rimouski, won a gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, and she did it again in Paris last summer by getting her hands on silver in the 59 kg, a new weight category.
As for Kingsbury, who comes from Deux-Montagnes, he became the most successful skier in the World Cup with 90 victories, all disciplines combined. Last season, he won 14 medals on the World Cup circuit, including 10 gold.
And ten
For Mikaël Kingsbury, it is a tenth Maurice trophy. His shelves are starting to overflow.
“I always have room,” he laughs. It’s a trophy that’s still special. It bears the name of Maurice Richard, who is probably one of the greatest legends of Quebec sport. Ten is a round number.”
The mogul skier has won three Olympic medals as well as 12 large crystal globes and 13 small globes. At 32, he still has goals. “There is the duel which is added to the Olympics,” he said. There has never been anyone who has won a medal in duels yet, it’s a great opportunity, especially since I have been very good in the last few seasons, I have been world champion three times in the last six years .”
Confirmation
Maude Charron won a second Olympic medal in the space of three years and yet she was filled with doubts before stepping onto the platform in Paris.
“The second medal confirmed that the first was not a fluke, but it was not the same environment, the same weight category and the same competitors.
“It confirmed that weightlifting is a sport in which I can perform in two different weight categories.”
In Paris, she remembers above all that she was able to enjoy these games in a completely different context from the pandemic bubble of Tokyo and above all, she lived this experience with her family.
Think about what’s next
At 31, Maude Charron hasn’t yet put her shoes on the platform, as they say in weightlifting lingo, but we shouldn’t necessarily expect her to be in Los Angeles in four years.
“I don’t see myself doing a cycle, it’s long and it’s far. I don’t close the door, but I don’t leave it wide open either. Training ten times a week, my head and body don’t want to do that anymore.
“With my trainer, we try to find a different way with a different frequency to train while maintaining the level I have. I still love competing, but I want to try other sports without being afraid of getting injured.”
She is also thinking about the rest of her life, since she is trained as a police officer and she begins to study her options in Bas-St-Laurent.
