Joannie Rochette gazes down at the Olympic bronze medal that hangs gracefully around her neck. It glimmers in the bright lights of Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum and she is instantly transported back in time.
“Holding that medal I was suddenly a little girl again. I used to always draw pictures of myself winning an Olympic medal and now that dream had come true.”
A tear rolls down her cheek. This victory is bittersweet. Just two days before Joannie began her competition, her mother, Therese, died suddenly of a heart attack. She had just arrived in Vancouver to watch and support her daughter.
“There was no question of not skating. My mother had been my main support, my rock. She always pushed me hard to be a great skater. Being a figure skater is challengingand she helped me get over many obstacles. I knew that she would tell me to be courageous, so I dedicated my competition to her memory.”
Joannie knows this was her mother’s dream as well, seeing her daughter on the podium at the Olympic Games. It’s never been an easy ride. She’s not from a big city, with lots of support and clubs, but from a small town. It would have been easy to give up as there have been many injuries, falls and missed jumps along the way.
“Overcoming self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges. You can’t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it and be confident in yourself as well.”
There was even the time Joannie had a falling out with her long-time coach. They broke up right before a big competition and Joannie had to move to a new town for her training. It was her mother who
stepped in to help Joannie bounce back.
“She told me to be brave. She told me that the coach doesn’t make me who I am as a person or a skater. I have to do that. It made me stronger to know that I had that responsibility.”
Joannie looks into the crowd and sees her father, Normand. She sees the courageous man who has put aside his own grief to be here supporting his daughter. She remembers the way he has worked numerous jobs over the years to help pay for her training, to help her Olympic dreams come true. Hundreds of cameras begin to flash as all the fans and photographers in the rink begin to capture the moment. Joannie’s determination to compete, her courage, is the most moving story of the Olympic Winter Games.
“All the support was great, but it also added pressure. One of the hardest things was knowing that everyone was looking at me, that everyone knew what I was going through. For me, I had to try as hard as I could to lose myself in my own world.”
That has not been easy. Each of her performances was met with a standing ovation. Stories about her loss have been beamed around the world. It’s something she can’t ignore. Years of living in the
public eye help Joannie deal with the range of emotions she’s feeling in Vancouver.
“As a skater, I am all alone on a sheet of ice with a pretty costume and makeup. In hockey, if someone falls they just get back up. If I fall, everyone sees that. You have to be tough, even a little selfish to be a skater. You can’t worry about what other people are thinking about you, good or bad. You have to be yourself.”
The anthems begin to play and the flags, including the Canadian flag, are raised to the ceiling. Joannie takes a deep breath. Everyone in attendance and watching at home would have understood if she’d fallen, or if she’d pulled out of the competition. But with her courage and self confidence she didn’t, and now she is an Olympic bronze medallist.
Joannie thinks back one more time to the pictures she drew of herself when she was a child. In those pictures she is always smiling. Joannie does allow herself a smile now, to celebrate this achievement for herself and her family.
CONNECTING: Building a foundation for new learning
Visualizing and Interpreting
Ask the students what the words courage, perseverance and motivation mean to them. Record their responses on chart paper and allow students time to discuss some examples of each. Have students create a comic strip that depicts examples of courage, perseverance and motivation. Emphasize that they are not to include speech or thought bubbles in the comic. Once the comic is completed, photocopy several of them and hand out to students. Have them create speech and thought bubbles of what they think is happening within the comic. Have students share their thoughts with a partner and then offer their interpretations in a large group discussion.
Watch “Rochette’s remarkable courage” at www.olympischool.ca/podcast
PROCESSING: Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge
Courage Comparison
Joannie and her father were both described in the reading as being courageous. Find evidence within the reading to show this. How were they the same and how were they different? In a group of 3 or 4, list the thoughts of the members of the group on chart paper. On a different page, have the students provide examples of courage from other known stories or their own personal experiences.
TRANSFORMING: Showing understanding in a new way
Media Literacy
Identify a variety of media forms and have the students create or choose a depiction of what courage is. Students may create a poster or PowerPoint presentation showing images of courage. Students may create or choose a collection of pieces of music that displays courage. Have the students present their interpretations to the class and highlight the parts of their presentation that emphasize courage.
EXTENDING: Making further connections to Olympians
Explore numbers and the Olympic Games by developing numeracy problems from Olympian
results and sport specific numbers.
Sample Numeracy Exercise
The following are the costs for Joannie to travel to a world championship event in figure
skating:
- Travel to and from airport – $100 CAD
- Flight – $1500 CAD
- Food – $300 €
- Ground Transportation at the event – 150 €
- Coaching fee – $1000 CAD
- Coaches Accommodation & Food – 1000 €
With an exchange rate where $1 CAD = 0.76 € (Euro), calculate Joannie’s costs for a single event in Europe.
Assuming 80% of this cost is covered by funding and sponsorship, how much would Joannie have to pay for herself?
How might Joannie raise funds to help support her participation in this event?
Please note these expenses are approximate expenses.