Nathalie Lambert
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Women's short track speed skating | ||
Representing Canada | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1992 Albertville | 3000m relay | |
1994 Lillehammer | 1000m | |
1994 Lillehammer | 3000m relay | |
World Championships | ||
1986 Chamonix | 3000m relay | |
1987 Montreal | 3000m relay | |
1988 St. Louis | 3000m relay | |
1989 Solihull | 3000m relay | |
1990 Amsterdam | 3000m relay | |
1991 Sydney | 1500m | |
1991 Sydney | 1000m | |
1991 Sydney | 3000m | |
1991 Sydney | Overall | |
1991 Sydney | 3000m relay | |
1992 Denver | 3000m relay | |
1993 Beijing | Overall | |
1993 Beijing | 3000m relay | |
1994 Guildford | Overall | |
1994 Guildford | 3000m relay | |
1997 Nagano | 3000m relay | |
1986 Chamonix | Overall | |
1987 Montreal | Overall | |
1984 Peterborough | Overall | |
1985 Amsterdam | Overall |
Nathalie Lambert (born December 1, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating. She won one Gold medal and two Silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and was Canada's flag bearer at the 1992 Albertville Olympics closing ceremony.[1] She is also a three-time Overall World Champion for 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Lambert won the 11 international competitions in which she participated, between 1992 and 1994. She won the all-around world championship three times: in 1991, 1993 and 1994. In 1991 she dethroned her legendary teammate, the 5 time overall World Champion- Sylvie Daigle, who she had been chasing for years, and often finished 2nd to.
Despite it not typically being her best event she was one of the gold medal favorites for the 500 metre gold at the 1992 Olympics and then became the favorite after fellow leading contenders- her teammate Sylvie Daigle and Zhang Yanmei of China both were eliminated in the heats. Unfortunately she had a fall in the semis when she got caught up with Marina Pylayeva of Russia and as a result did not make the final. She rebounded from the disappointment to lead the Canadian team to gold in the relay. In 1994 she went in as the favorite in both the 500 and 1000 metres but again fell in the semis of the 500, and was just nipped for the 1000 metre gold in the last lap by Chun Lee Kyung of Korea, settling for silver. She added another silver in the relay, after the Chinese team which finished 2nd was disqualified.
After retiring, she made a comeback to the sport in 1997, and performed respectably at the 1997 World Short Track Championships. She seemed to be on pace for a place on the 1998 Canadian Olympic team, but an injury took her out of the running.
Records
- 1985 - World championship, Amsterdam (Netherland) - 1000 m : 1m43s.58
- 1987 - World championship, Montréal (Quebec) - 3000 m : 5m31s.65
- 1993 - International Competition, Hamar (Norway) - 1000 m : 1m34s.07
- 1993 - World championship, Beijing (China) - relay 3000 m : 4m26s.56
Awards
- 1992 - Inducted into the Canadian Olympic Committee Hall of Fame
- 1994 - Named Athlete of the Year by the 'Mérite Sportif Québécois'
- From 1985 to 1987 and 1990 to 1994. Named Athlete of the Year by the Canadian Speed Skating Association
- 2001 - Inducted into Quebec's Sports Hall of Fame
- 2002 - Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Personal life
Lambert married gym teacher Daniel Gaudette, and adopted two Chinese girls.
References
- ^ "1992 Albertville". Canadian Olympic Committee. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
External links
- Article about Nathalie Lambert
- Biography on Nathalie Lambert at the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
- World Short Track Championships Overall Standings
- 1963 births
- Living people
- Canadian short track speed skaters
- Short track speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Short track speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Short track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Canada
- Olympic silver medalists for Canada
- Sportspeople from Montreal
- Olympic medalists in short track speed skating
- Canadian female speed skaters
- Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Olympic short track speed skaters of Canada
- Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame inductees
- Canadian Winter Olympic medalist stubs