Valérie Hould-Marchand

Valérie Hould-Marchand (born May 29, 1980) is a retired Canadian synchronized swimmer and Olympic medalist.

Valérie Hould-Marchand
Personal information
Born (1980-05-29) May 29, 1980 (age 44)
Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada
Sport
SportSynchronised swimming
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1999 Winnipeg Team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Solo

Career

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Hould-Marchand was a member of the Canadian team that received a silver medal in the team event at the age of 16 at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She would go on to win gold in two major competitions, the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the solo event[1] and 1999 Pan American Games in the team event.[2] She became embroiled in a dispute with the national synchronized swimming organization when they prevented her from training her solo routine, despite already being selected to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics, Hould-Marchard fought for her rights but was officially retired for doing so despite strict instructions from the sport minister of Canada not to do so. A committee was born out of this battle in order to give a safe haven to athletes to be heard without putting their career at risk.

References

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  1. ^ "Commonwealth Games Federation - Commonwealth Countries". www.thecgf.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Pan American Games - Swimming and Diving". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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