Why Kayaking?

Kayaking is a family business for me. My parents both were paddlers; they actually met at the Lachine Canoe Club in Montreal where I still paddle today. My mom paddled until she was about 18 and then kept in the sport by coaching and helping around the canoe club. My dad was a successful kayaker who made the 1976 Olympics and was, while being a firefighter training to be part of the 1980 Olympic Games that were sadly boycotted.

When my brother and I were little we spent a lot of time around the canoe club where both my parents were coaching. We experienced the joy of being on the water at a really young age and kayaking was just a part of what we spent our summer doing! Our family was always really active and we were all involved in many different things. Although kayaking had a really big part in our life, my brother and I never felt pressured. We did and we still do it for the love of the sport and the outdoors!

When my dad passed away in June, 1998, kayaking became for me a sort of escape. My kayak was my own little island where I controlled everything that was happening. It became for me a way to feel protected from what was going on around me. Once you push off the dock you are in charge! Kayaking was also a way for me to keep the memory of my dad alive. He was the one that brought me the joy of the sport so it was a way to keep him close.


In 2008 when I finally made the Olympic Games, it was a really emotional moment. To qualify for the games I had to race at the Pan-American Championships, which were held that year in Montreal on the Olympic basin that had been built for the 1976 Olympic Games. It was the same course my dad had paddled on when he participated in the Olympics! It was a perfect day! All my friends and family were there, even some of my dad’s old teammates. When me and my teammates crossed the line first and qualified for the Games it was a moment of overwhelming happiness and of excitement! It was so incredible to be able to share this moment with so many people I knew and so many people that supported me along the way.

It wasn’t until I got out of my boat and was winding down that I felt this flow of emotion and memories. At that moment I felt very close to my dad and I knew from deep down that he was as happy as I was and that no matter what happened he was still supporting me 100%.

Cancer took my dad out of my life physically, but I strongly believe that there is something deep inside me and the people he touched, that is a part of him. It is there to make us remember that life is short and it’s the reason we need to enjoy it and make the most out of it!