Make a wish!

What is the most precious thing a 23 years old girl has? What is the one thing I wish for every time I blow out my birthday cake candles? My 23 years of living has made me realize how easy and simple the answer to this question is. Health!

Training has been a part of my life since I was 14 years old. I have been a member of the National Canoe-kayak Team since 2002. Since then I have become one of the fastest paddlers in my country, participated in and had great results at international regattas, and in 2008 realized my childhood dream of participating in the Beijing Olympic Games. I am addicted to exercising and being able to push my body to the limits. My life style reminds me everyday how lucky I am to be able to do everything I aspire to do. I am well aware of the most precious gift I was given and I am determined to use it to its full potential because I know how fast it can disappear!


When I was 11 years old my father was diagnosed with leukemia. To everyone I was surrounded by this did not make any sense. My dad was as addicted to exercise as I am now. He ate healthy, never smoked, had the biggest biceps in the world, was a 1976 Olympian (also in kayaking) and on top of all that, he was a fireman. To my 11 years old eyes he was a superhero. Superheroes don’t get sick. Superheroes always succeed! The bad guy never wins! Well we learned the hard way that nothing is a guarantee and that no matter how strong your body is and how hard you fight, things don’t always turn out the way they are supposed to. My dad lost his fight to cancer in 1998. Although cancer took my dad away, me and my 9 year old little brother Hugues still and will forever remember our dad as a superhero, our Rocky Balboa...someone invincible!

Years went by before I was able to cope with and understand what I had really been through. It is surprising how far away I pushed my feelings and how long it took for me to realize that he wasn’t coming back. I grew a lot from it and learned a lot about myself through it even though I was a young teenager. My family and especially my mom were a giant part of finding the courage to move on without ever forgetting.

Cancer has brought lots of ups and downs in my life. One of the things that it has taught me is how fragile our lives are and how fortunate I am to be strong and healthy. I saw how much of an impact health has on a person and I know it is the one thing I wish to hold on to for as long has a can! I promised myself at a very young age that I would use the gift I have and do everything I can to maintain it! Now, I am a person of extremes and I guess the promise I made to myself brought me all the way to the Olympics! But to a certain extent, and to a less extreme one, I think it is a promise that every healthy people on the planet should make to themselves. Realize the luck of being healthy and taking care of it by eating well, exercising and enjoying life to the fullest!