Marie-Michèle Gagnon
Marie-Michèle Gagnon (born 25 April 1989) is a World Cup alpine ski racer from Canada. Born in Lac-Etchemin, Quebec, she was a technical skier focused on slalom. However, since injury at the start of 2017 season, she no longer competes in slalom and rarely competes in giant slalom, while giving the focus on speed disciplines and combined.
Alpine skier | |
Gagnon at Courchevel in 2015 | |
Disciplines | Super-G, Downhill, Combined, Giant slalom |
---|---|
Club | Mont Orignal |
Born | Lac-Etchemin, Quebec, Canada | 25 April 1989
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
World Cup debut | 13 December 2008 (age 19) |
Website | mariemichelegagnon.com |
Olympics | |
Teams | 2 - (2010, 2014) |
Medals | 0 |
World Championships | |
Teams | 6 - (2009–2019) |
Medals | 0 |
World Cup | |
Seasons | 12 - (2009–2020) |
Wins | 2 - (2 SC) |
Podiums | 4 - (2 SL, 2 SC) |
Overall titles | 0 - (13th in 2014) |
Discipline titles | 1 - (SC, 2014)[A] |
Career
Gagnon joined the Canadian national team at the age of 18, although her progress was halted by a leg fracture at the start of her rookie season.[1] She made her World Cup debut in December 2008 and has represented Canada at two Winter Olympics and six World Championships.
She attained her first World Cup podium in March 2012, a third-place finish in a slalom at Åre, Sweden.[2][3] Gagnon won her first World Cup event in January 2014, a combined event at Altenmarkt, Austria.[4] This was the first podium finish for a Canadian skier in a World Cup combined event for 30 years.[5] The previous day she scored her first World Cup points in downhill at the same venue.[6] That season she also took her first top ten World Cup finishes in super-G, finishing tenth and sixth in races in Lake Louise and St. Moritz respectively.[7] At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Gagnon crashed out of the slalom run of the combined, dislocating her shoulder,[8] before failing to finish the super-G and giant slalom, and securing a ninth place in the slalom. At the end of the season she finished in 13th place in the overall World Cup standings and sixth in the slalom rankings.[6]
Personal life
Gagnon was the third of five siblings, and left the family home at the age of 12 to pursue her education and ski racing in Mont-Sainte-Anne and Quebec City. Her childhood idols included Mélanie Turgeon, Geneviève Simard and Erik Guay.[1]
Gagnon has been in a relationship with American alpine skier Travis Ganong since 2008.[5][9] The pair met through mutual friend Louis-Pierre Hélie.[1] In 2014 the couple moved to a new home in Lake Tahoe, California.[7][6]
World Cup results
Season standings
Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 19 | 73 | 33 | 35 | — | — | — |
2010 | 20 | 103 | 43 | — | — | — | — |
2011 | 21 | 29 | 22 | 16 | 49 | — | 15 |
2012 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 26 | 44 | — | 12 |
2013 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 23 | 32 | — | 4 |
2014 | 24 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 51 | 1 |
2015 | 25 | 28 | 11 | 34 | 31 | — | 5 |
2016 | 26 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 44 | — | 4 |
2017 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 16 | — | — | 21 |
2018 | 28 | 86 | 38 | 37 | — | — | — |
2019 | 29 | 46 | — | 24 | 23 | — | 13 |
2020 | 30 | 63 | — | 49 | 37 | 30 | 27 |
Race podiums
Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 10 Mar 2012 | Slalom | 3rd | |
2014 | 12 Jan 2014 | Super combined | 1st | |
2016 | 15 Feb 2016 | | Slalom | 3rd |
28 Feb 2016 | Super combined | 1st |
World Championship results
Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 19 | DNF1 | DNF1 | — | — | — |
2011 | 21 | DNF1 | 23 | 22 | — | DNF2 |
2013 | 23 | 13 | 8 | — | — | — |
2015 | 25 | 10 | 23 | DNF | — | DNF1 |
2017 | 27 | 20 | 20 | 19 | — | 6 |
2019 | 29 | — | 23 | 21 | 32 | 14 |
Olympic results
Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 20 | 31 | 21 | — | — | — | |
2014 | 24 | 9 | DNF1 | DNF | — | DNF2 | |
2018 | 28 | Injured in November, missed rest of season |
References
- Bossé, Olivier (18 November 2017). "Marie-Michèle Gagnon: le feu de l'effort" [Marie-Michèle Gagnon: the fire of the effort]. Le Soleil (Quebec) (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- Williams, Eric (10 March 2012). "Hoefl-Riesch regains slalom from with win in Are, Gagnon first podium in third". Ski Racing. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- Bouzane, Bradley (10 March 2012). "Marie-Michele Gagnon wins first World Cup medal". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- FIS Alpine (12 January 2014). "Altenmarkt – Super Combined". Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- Reguly, Eric (9 February 2014). "Canada's Gagnon draws inspiration from boyfriend's run ahead of alpine Olympic debut". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- Drouin, Simon (31 March 2014). "Changement de cap pour Marie-Michèle Gagnon" [Change of course for Marie-Michèle Gagnon]. La Presse (Canadian newspaper) (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- Gilbert, Manon (15 October 2014). "Le virage de Marie-Michèle Gagnon" [The turn of Marie-Michèle Gagnon]. Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- Young, Leslie (10 February 2014). "Skier Marie-Michèle Gagnon dislocates shoulder, still plans to compete". globalnews.ca. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Das WM-Liebespaar: Gagnon und Ganong" [The World Championship lovers: Gagnon and Ganong]. Kleine Zeitung (in German). 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Skiing to revive super-combined". ESPN. Associated Press. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
External links
- Marie-Michèle Gagnon at the International Ski Federation
- Marie-Michèle Gagnon World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
- Marie-Michèle Gagnon at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Marie-Michèle Gagnon at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Alpine Canada.org – national ski team – athletes – Marie-Michèle Gagnon
- Rossignol.com – team – alpine skiing – Marie-Michèle Gagnon
- Official website
- Marie-Michèle Gagnon on Twitter