Catriona Lemay Doan
Athlete (1998)
Speedskating
Catriona became Saskatoon's first woman gold medal winner at the Olympic Games since 1928 when she won the 500 metre speed skating championship at Nagano, Japan, in Olympic record time of 38.21 seconds.
Catriona was born in Saskatoon on Dec. 13, 1970, one of three daughters of Iain and Shauna LeMay.
Soccer was one of her early interests but she also found time for ringette and track and field, setting Saskatchewan high school records in track and representing Saskatchewan at the 1993 Canada Games at Kamloops.
Speed skating was her first love and she was competing with the Saskatoon Lions Club as early as 1981. She won many trophies, including the club's outstanding skater award seven times. Catriona left her mark in Saskatchewan, holding provincial outdoor records on 24 occasions, provincial indoor records on seven occasions and being honored with the Dairy Foundation Fitness Foundation award five times. She was also named Sask Sport female athlete of the year twice.
At the Canadian level, she has held Canadian championships, from bantam through senior sprint. She won her first international gold medal at the World Cup competition in 1995, won four silvers and a bronze on the World Cup tour in 1996, and won a bronze and silver at the World Cup at Lillehammer, Norway, in 1997.
She represented Canada in two events at the 1992 Winter Olympics at Albertville, France, and raced in three events at the Winter Olympics in Norway, in 1994. The Olympics of her life came to a gold medal level at Nagano, Japan. Catriona took her victory flag with the Canadian flag and followed up with a bronze medal showing in the 1,000 metres at one minute, 17.37 and was 13th in the 1,500 metres.
Catriona finished an amazing year on the World Cup circuit, winning the world sprint championship and two gold medals and a silver medal at the World Cup single distances in Calgary.
In 2002, Catriona went on to repeat her Olympic success with a gold medal in the 500m at the Salt Lake City Olympics. That same year she was also the world sprint Champion, and won the Lou Marsh award as Canada's athlete of the year.
Above Photo -- Catriona Le May Doan skates a victory lap after winning a gold medal at the Olympics in February 2002. (CP Photo)
" Catriona (Le May’s) parents should be given a lot of the credit for putting her in a number of sports when she was young. " -- Speed skating coach Henrietta Goplen on Catriona Le May Doan, who was a gold medallist in the Olympics and a world champion