Marlène Harnois
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  France
|
||
| Women’s taekwondo | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2012 London | 57 kg |
| World Championships | ||
|
2011 Gyeongju | Featherweight |
| European Championships | ||
 |
2008 Rome | Lightweight |
|
2012 Manchester | Lightweight |
|
2010 Saint Petersburg | Welterweight |
| Universiade | ||
|
2011 Shenzhen | Featherweight |
|
2009 Belgrade | Lightweight |
Marlene Olivia Harnois (born 22 October 1986 in Montreal) is a Canadian-born French taekwondo Olympic medalist, TV personality and philanthropist.
In addition she has been European champion, World University champion, a World Taekwondo Championships medalist and is a Knight of the Order of Merit, decorated by the President of France.
She is a Champion for Peace, for the Peace and Sport Organisation (under the High Patronage of HH Prince Albert II of Monaco).
Harnois was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She became a Canadian Junior National champion at the age of 11. Two years later, she won bronze at the World Junior Taekwondo Championships. Invited by the French Taekwondo Federation, she moved to France in 2001 to train for a period of one year, returning to Canada afterwards where she gave up the sport for almost four years. She returned to France in 2006 to resume her taekwondo career, becoming a French citizen in April 2008 and winning the European Championships a few days later.
She won a gold medal at both the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze medal at the European Championships in 2010.
She won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships in women's featherweight.
In 2011, she won the Universiade Games in Shenzen by beating the then world champion, Yuzhuo Hou, on home soil in the final match. During that season, she also won the US Open, Russia Open and Israel Open.
At her first Olympics (the 2012 Summer Olympics) in London, she won a bronze medal in the −57 kg category by beating Japan's Mayu Hamada in finals.
Marlene discovered Taekwondo at the age of four, with her older sister Stephanie. Both enrolled in a neighbourhood club located on the south shore of Montreal. She earnt her black belt at the age of nine and quickly stood out at provincial and national levels. During her youth, she also won competitions in other sports including a Quebec Championship in fencing (foil), in handball (with the high school team of Pierre-Brosseau, where she was enrolled in sports studies program), as well as several snowboard competitions.
In 1997, in her first participation, she won the Canadian Junior National Taekwondo Championships. After three years of consecutive years of winning the National Championship, she made her debut on the international scene and won the 1999 US Open. At age 13, Marlene was selected to represent Canada at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Killarney, Ireland and won the bronze medal. The Canadian martial art prodigy immediately gained international attention within her sport.
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