by Jean-Michel Lachance
traducted by Gabrielle De-Billy-Brown

It all began in summer of 2004, when she was trying to correct a detail in her skating technique. She suffered a motricity problem at that moment, cause by the loss of a motor pattern. Still fighting for a place on the Olympic team, Amélie decided to cross out the Turino Olympics, in order to give herself time to heal without the stress of competition ruining her chances. Unfortunately, many months later, the problem was still there.

«I've lost up to 80's of my capacities. I've managed to regain between 50 or 60%, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. And the worst thing of all is, it's not for a lack of trying. It's frustrating because it's wasn't a part of my plan for my life. Still, I'm happy to manage to face this, because this isn't the last difficult thing I'll have to fight against. Yes, it's breaking my heart, but it's not the end of the world. I was thinking of retiring at 27, but it'll happen sooner, at 23. I can't force things. If you keep doing it, you stop going forward.»

«I'm still bitter when I think about what I could have done, but I have no regrets. I've been blessed with wonderful moments. I've lived so many beautiful experiences.»

Amélie always welcome

«Everyone hoped to see me come back, but I've never felt any pressure from anyone. When I announced my decision to Guy Thibault and Martin Gagné (the coaches), they told me I'd always be welcome, that the door would always be open for me. It was very touching.»

Many projects for the future (from cyberpresse.ca)

A graduate in naturopathy, Goulet-Nadon wishes now to offer consults in fitness centers and, one day, she would like to open her own health centre. She would also like to teach others how to integrate sports into their lifestyle. "I'm an athlete and I always will be", she says. "I'm only more free to do whatever I want.", says the woman who would like to run a marathon, someday.



Major achievements

Competition Type Season Description Olympic Games 2002 Bronze 3000m Relay World Championships 2004 8th Overall 2003 5th Overall, 2nd 500m, 2nd 3000 M Relay 2002 5th Overall, 3rd 1500m

Personal records

Event Result Competition City Date Set 500m 44.184 2003 World Cup 5 USA Salt Lake City, UT (USA) Feb 8 2003 1000m 1:32.020 2003 World Championships, Poland Warsaw (POL) Mar 23 2003 1500m 2:24.977 2003 Canadian Open Calgary, AB (CAN) Mar 7 2003 3000m 5:10.776 2003 World Team Championships, Bulgaria Sofia (BUL) Mar 15 2003

Photo: Amélie Goulet Nadon
Credit: Stéphanie Lambert, suprgrltx.com