Gaétan Boucher
Encyclopedia
Gaétan Boucher, OC
, CQ
(born May 10, 1958 in Charlesbourg, Quebec
) is a former Speed skating
Olympic champion from Canada.
A four-time Olympic medalist
, Boucher was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy
as Canada's outstanding male athlete of 1984. He was named number 10 on the list of Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century
. In 1983, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
and was promoted to Officer in 1984. In 1985, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec
.
Boucher held the Canadian record for most medals won at a single Olympics, winning three at the 1984 Winter Olympics
. This was surpassed by Cindy Klassen
at the 2006 Winter Olympics
, who won five. He was World Sprint Champion
in 1984, as well as runner-up four times.
Boucher was also Canadian Superstars
champion in 1981.
Over the course of his speedskating career, Boucher set two world records.
Gaetan Boucher's career coincided with that of Eric Heiden
, and Boucher finished runner-up to Heiden in both the 1979 and 1980 World Sprint Championship. After Heiden's retirement aged 22, Boucher was among the favourites for the 1981 World Sprint Championship, but after the first day's events he was third. He then crashed out of the championship with a fall on the 500 m, and despite beating champion Frode Rønning
by 1.61 seconds on the final 1000 m, he had no chance to finish anything but last. Three years later, however, he did win the title, requiring to beat Sergey Khlebnikov
by 0.47 seconds on the final 1000 m; he won by 0.49 and secured the title by 0.01 of a samalog
point, capping a season which also included two Olympic golds.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, CQ
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
(born May 10, 1958 in Charlesbourg, Quebec
Charlesbourg, Quebec
Founded in 1659, Charlesbourg is a borough of Quebec City, in the northeastern part of the city and West of the city of Beauport. Incorporated in 1976 following the merger of the cities of Orsainville, Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides, the town of Charlesbourg and the municipality of Charlesbourg-Est...
) is a former Speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
Olympic champion from Canada.
A four-time Olympic medalist
Olympic medalist
An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal: gold, silver and bronze. The winner is awarded the gold medal, the runner-up the silver medal, and the third place competitor is awarded the bronze medal...
, Boucher was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy
Lou Marsh Trophy
The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
as Canada's outstanding male athlete of 1984. He was named number 10 on the list of Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century
Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century
Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century as voted on in a 1999 survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters conducted by the Canadian Press and Broadcast News:-Top 10 Female Athletes:# Nancy Greene , skier# Silken Laumann , rower...
. In 1983, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and was promoted to Officer in 1984. In 1985, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
.
Boucher held the Canadian record for most medals won at a single Olympics, winning three at the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...
. This was surpassed by Cindy Klassen
Cindy Klassen
Cindy Klassen, OM is a Canadian long track speed skater. Klassen is a six-time medalist at the Winter Olympics. She is tied with Clara Hughes for Canada's all-time most decorated Olympian with 6 medals each...
at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, who won five. He was World Sprint Champion
World Sprint Speed Skating Championships
The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day...
in 1984, as well as runner-up four times.
Boucher was also Canadian Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
champion in 1981.
Over the course of his speedskating career, Boucher set two world records.
Gaetan Boucher's career coincided with that of Eric Heiden
Eric Heiden
Eric Arthur Heiden, M.D. is an American former long track speed skater and road cyclist who won all the men's speed skating races, and thus an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York,...
, and Boucher finished runner-up to Heiden in both the 1979 and 1980 World Sprint Championship. After Heiden's retirement aged 22, Boucher was among the favourites for the 1981 World Sprint Championship, but after the first day's events he was third. He then crashed out of the championship with a fall on the 500 m, and despite beating champion Frode Rønning
Frode Rønning
Frode Rønning is a former speed skater and coach from Norway.During many speed skating seasons, Rønning was the world's best sprinter. Rønning participated in the 13 sprint world championships between 1977 and 1989, he became champion in 1981, and won silver in 1978 and bronze in 1979 and 1982...
by 1.61 seconds on the final 1000 m, he had no chance to finish anything but last. Three years later, however, he did win the title, requiring to beat Sergey Khlebnikov
Sergey Khlebnikov
Sergey Anatolevich Khlebnikov was a Russian speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1980 and the 1984 Winter Olympics.He was born in Sortavala and died in Moscow by drowning in the Mitinskoe pond; "an oak of a man," the Western press described him as a "tank" and a typical product of...
by 0.47 seconds on the final 1000 m; he won by 0.49 and secured the title by 0.01 of a samalog
Samalog
Samalog is a scoring system in speed skating. It is used in allround tournaments to convert results at various distances into points in order to determine an overall champion...
point, capping a season which also included two Olympic golds.