Isabelle Duchesnay

Olympic medal record
Competitor for France
Figure skating
Silver	1992 Albertville	Ice Dance

Isabelle Duchesnay
The Duchesnays at an Exhibition in Berlin in 1989
Personal information
Country represented	Canada France
Born	December 18, 1963 (1963-12-18) Aylmer, Quebec, Canada
Former partner	Paul Duchesnay
Medal record Figure skating Ice dancing Competitor for France Olympic Games Silver 1992 Albertville Ice dancing World Championships Gold 1991 Munich Ice dancing Silver 1990 Halifax Ice dancing Bronze 1989 Paris Ice dancing European Championships Silver 1991 Sofia Ice dancing Bronze 1990 Leningrad Ice dancing Bronze 1988 Prague Ice dancing

Isabelle Duchesnay (born December 18, 1963, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada) is an ice dancer who competed for both Canada and France. She and her brother Paul Duchesnay were successful ice dance partners in figure skating, winning a world championship in 1991 and an Olympic silver medal in 1992.

Raised in Canada, the Duchesnays started skating at an early age as a couple in pairs. Their first major success came at the 1982 Canadian Nationals, where they placed second in the junior competition. After a serious accident where Isabelle hit her head, they switched to ice dancing.

Over time, the Duchesnays' skating became more innovative and revolutionary with help from Olympic 1984 gold medalist Christopher Dean . After the Canadian Federation of Figure Skating criticized their skating, they decided to leave the Canadian team. In 1985, they began skating for their mother's homeland of France instead.

The Duchesnays' 1988 Winter Olympics programs were considered unusual. Their free dance, a jungle-inspired dance set to drums, was not well received by judges. The pair placed 8th overall.

Despite the judges' reactions, the Duchesnays continued skating in their unusual and innovative style. They placed third and second in the 1989 and 1990 World Championships, respectively. They won their only World title at the 1991 Worlds in Munich, Germany.

The Duchesnays were favoured to win gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Facing stiff competition from the Russian pair of Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, they faltered and finished second. This would be the pair's last amateur competition. They competed professionally until Paul suffered a serious rollerblading accident in 1996.

Isabelle Duchesnay married Christopher Dean, a fellow ice dancer, in 1991. They divorced in 1993.

In 1996, the Duchesnays were nominated for a Gemini Award in Best Performance - Performing Arts Program or Series for their performance in "The Planets". [1] [2]

Duchesnay wrote a book, Notre passion (Sports pour tous), in 1992. [3]

Results

(ice dance with Paul Duchesnay)

Event	1982-83	1983-84	1984-85	1985-86	1986-87	1987-88	1988-89	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92
Winter Olympic Games						8th				2nd
World Championships				12th	9th	6th	3rd	2nd	1st
European Championships				8th	5th	3rd		3rd	2nd
French Championships				1st	1st			1st	1st
Canadian Championships	4th	4th
Skate America					1st
Nebelhorn Trophy	2nd

External links

• The Duchesnays at Figure Skating Corner
• Dean and Duchesnay to divorce
• New York Times articles on the Duchesnays
• Care to Ice Dance? - Duchesnay & Duchesnay
• Isabelle Duchesnay at the Internet Movie Database