Catriona Le May Doan

Catriona Ann Le May-Doan, O.C. (born December 23, 1970 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m. The proper pronunciation of her first name is "Kah-TREE-nah".

Born In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of Scottish ancestry, Le May-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". At the Nagano Olympics, she also won a bronze on the 1,000 m. 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. She has also won the 500 m World Cup 4 times (in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002) and the 1,000 m World Cup once (in 1998).

On November 22, 1997 she became the first woman to break the 38-seconds barrier for 500 m, skating 37.90 s in Calgary, Alberta. Before the year was over, she had tied this record once and broken it twice, ending on 37.55 s. Within the next four years, she broke this record four more times, up to 37.22 s in Calgary, December 2001. No other woman has set eight consecutive World Records in one distance. Between 7 January 2001 and 24 February 2001, Catriona even had the 14 best times ever skated on that distance:

* 1. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,40 1 Calgary 06-01-2001
* 2. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,55 1 Calgary 28-12-1997
* 3. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,57 1 Calgary 07-01-2001
* 4. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,71 1 Calgary 27-03-1998
* 5. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,71 1 Calgary 27-12-1997
* 6. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,86 1 Calgary 21-02-1999
* 7. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,88 1 Calgary 27-03-1998
* 8. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,89 1 Calgary 20-02-1999
* 9. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 22-11-1997
*10. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 23-11-1997
*11. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,90 1 Calgary 29-11-1998
*12. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,94 1 Calgary 18-11-2000
*13. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,97 1 Calgary 12-01-2000
*14. Catriona Le May-Doan CAN 37,98 1 Calgary 13-02-1999

But 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 1,500 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.

Le May is married to Bart Doan, a rodeo cowboy and icemaker at the Olympic Oval, and cousin of NHL hockey player Shane Doan. In 2002 she published an autobiography, "Going for Gold".

She retired from competitive skating in 2003, and in 2004 gave birth to her first child, Greta. She was a commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was a member of the official Canadian contingent when Vancouver, British Columbia was chosen as the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Le May-Doan is also a popular motivational speaker, and has been involved with Campus Crusade for Christ's "Power to Change" campaign.

In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

She provided colour commentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 2006 Winter Olympics for Speed Skating, and was present to see her former teammates Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes win their personal and national record achievements.

Autobiography

* Catriona Le May-Doan (with Ken McGoogan): "Going For Gold", 2002. McClelland & Stewart Publishers, Toronto.

Achievements

*1996:*Gold- 1996 World Sprint Championship, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands
*1997:*First Overall- 1997/98 World Cup Standings 500 m:*Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Roseville, Minnesota:*Silver- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Roseville, Minnesota:*Gold- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Roseville, Minnesota:*Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary, Alberta:*Gold- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary, Alberta:*Gold- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary, Alberta:*Silver- 1997 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary, Alberta:*Gold- 1996/97 Canadian Sprint Championship, Overall:*Silver- 1997 World Sprint Championship, 500m, Hamar, Norway:*Bronze- 1997 World Cup, 500 m, Innsbruck, Austria
*1998:*Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 500 m, Seoul, Korea:*Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 500 m, Nagano, Japan:*Gold- 1998/99 World Cup, 1000 m, Nagano, Japan:*Gold- 1998 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m, Nagano, Japan:*Bronze- 1998 Winter Olympic Games, 1000 m, Nagano, Japan:*Olympic Record- 1998 Winter Olympic Games 500 m (38.21 s):*1998- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year:*First Overall- 1998 World Cup Standings 500 m:*First Overall- 1998 World Cup Standings 1000 m:*Gold- 1998 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Calgary:*Silver- 1998 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Calgary:*Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, West Allis, Wisconsin:*Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, West Allis, Wisconsin:*World Record- 1998 Canadian Olympic Trials 500 m (37.55 s):*World Champion- 1998 World Sprint Championship, Berlin, Germany:*Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy:*Gold- 1998 World Cup, 500 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy:*Silver- 1998 World Cup, 1000 m, Baselga di Pine, Italy
*1999:*Gold- 1999 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands:*Bronze- 1999 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Heerenveen, Netherlands:*First Overall- 1999 World Cup Standings, 500 m:*Third Overall- 1999 World Cup Standings, 1000 m:*World Champion- 1999 World Sprint Championships, 500 m, Calgary:*Gold- 1999 World Cup, 500 m, Berlin, Germany
*2000:*Gold- 2000/01 World Cup, 500 m, Nagano, Japan:*Gold- 2000/01 World Cup, 500 m, Seoul, Korea:*Bronze- 2000 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Nagano, Japan:*Silver- 2000 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary:*Silver- 2000 World Cup, 500 m, Butte, Montana:*Silver- 2000 World Cup, 1000 m, Butte, Montana:*First Overall- 2000 Canadian Sprint Championships
*2001:*2001- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year:*World Record- 2001 World Single Distance Championships 500 m (37.29 s):*First Overall- 2001 World Cup Standings, 500 m:*World Record- 2001 Canadian National Championships 500 m (37.40 s):*World Record- 2001 Canadian National Championships Overall: Points (150.085):*Gold- 2001 World Single Distance Championships, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah:*Bronze- 2001 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m, Salt Lake City, Utah:*World Champion- 2001 World Sprint Championships, 500 m , Inzell, Germany:*First Overall- 2001 Canadian Sprint Championships:*Gold- 2001 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary:*Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary:*Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Heerenveen, Holland:*Gold- 2001 World Cup, 1000 m Heerenveen, Holland:*Gold- 2001 World Cup, 500 m, Helsinki, Finland:*Silver- 2001/02 World Cup, 1000 m, Calgary:*Gold- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah
*2002:*Gold- 2002 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m, Salt Lake City, Utah:*Olympic Record- 2002 Winter Olympic Games, 500 m (37.30 s), Salt Lake City, Utah:*World Champion- 2002 World Sprint Championships, 500 m , Hamar, Norway:*2002- Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Athlete of the Year:*2002- Canadian Female Athlete of the Year:*World Record- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m (37.22 s) Calgary:*First Overall- 2002 World Cup Standings 500 m:*Gold- 2002 World Cup, 500 m, Inzell, Germany:*Gold- 2002 World Cup, 100 m, Inzell, Germany:*Gold- 2002 World Cup, 500 m, Heerenveen, Holland:*Gold- 2001/02 World Cup, 500 m, Calgary

Personal records

External links

* [http://www.catrionalemaydoan.com/ Catriona Le May-Doan Official Site] Inactive since 2003.
* [http://www.skateresults.com/skater/show/633 Catriona Le May-Doan at SkateResults.com]
* [http://www.unitedathletes.com/english/interviews/clemaydoan.html United Athletes Magazine] Catriona's Olympic experience.
* [http://www.sk.bluecross.ca/spokesperson/bio.html Saskatchewan Bluecross spokesperson bio]
* [http://www.powertochange.com/changed/catriona.html Power to Change Site]