Catriona Le May Doan

Catriona Le May Doan

Le May Doan in 2010 at the Olympic Plaza in Calgary, Alberta
Personal information
Born	(1970-12-23) December 23, 1970 (age 46) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Speed skating
Retired	2003
Medal record Women's speed skating Representing  Canada Olympic Games 1998 Nagano 500 m 2002 Salt Lake City 500 m 1998 Nagano 1,000 m World Championships 1998 Calgary 500 m 1999 Heerenveen 500 m 2001 Salt Lake City 500 m 1998 Berlin Sprint 2002 Hamar Sprint 1998 Calgary 1000 m 1999 Calgary Sprint 2000 Nagano 500 m 1999 Heerenveen 1000 m 2001 Salt Lake City 1000 m 2001 Inzell Sprint

Catriona Ann Le May Doan, OC (born December 23, 1970) is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m.

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of Scottish ancestry, Le May Doan won the Olympic 500 m title at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and she repeated this feat at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, giving rise to the title "the fastest woman on ice". At the Nagano Olympics, she also won a bronze on the 1,000 m. She was World Sprint Champion 1998 and 2002 and World Champion 500 m 1998, 1999, and 2001, and she won a 500 m bronze in 2000. She has also won the 500 m World Cup 4 times (in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003) and the 1,000 m World Cup once (in 1998).

On November 22, 1997, Le May Doan became the first woman to break the 38-second barrier for the 500 m, skating 37.90 s in Calgary, Alberta. Before the year was over, she had tied this record once and broken it twice, ending on 37.55 s. Within the next four years, she broke this record four more times, up to 37.22 s in Calgary, in December 2001. No other woman has set eight consecutive World Records in one distance. Between 7 January 2001 and 24 February 2001, Le May Doan even had the 14 best times ever skated on that distance:

Le May Doan still had a long way to go before she started fighting for Olympic Gold and World Records. In the 1994 Winter Olympics, she fell on the 500 m and placed 17th on the 1,500 m as her best result. Prior to the Nagano Games, she was training with her teammate and rival Susan Auch, both being coached by Susan's brother, Derrick Auch. In Nagano, Susan Auch placed 2nd behind Catriona on the 500 m. She is now coached by the Canadian sprint coach, former Olympic speed skater Sean Ireland.