Christine Girard (born January 3, 1985) is a Canadian

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

from

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda (; Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

(currently living in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

). She competes in the 63 kg division. Girard was the first Canadian female to win a medal in weightlifting when she won gold at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She also won

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

titles in her weight class and has won multiple medals in each of those competitions. She holds the Commonwealth games record and the Pan-American Games record in the Clean and Jerk.

Career

Weightlifting became a passion for Girard and her three sisters when they moved to Quebec. She began training early and entered her first provincial competition when she was 12. Girard became a member of the national team in 2001 at the age of 16 when she competed in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In 2002, she won a bronze medal at the

which she improved upon in 2006 with a silver. At the 2006 University World Championships she won the bronze medal. She next won a silver at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

. Girard then finished 8th at the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships with a total of 221 kg. Girard then entered the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, she improved upon this by finishing fourth, with a total of 228 kg and 3 kg away from a medal. Christine Girard 2010

Girard built upon these achievements by finally winning a crown as champion when she won the gold medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and completed her Commonwealth Games medal collection. En route to winning her gold Girard set a Commonwealth Games record in the snatch at 105 kg, in the clean and jerk she added an additional 130 kg for a total of 235 kg which were also Commonwealth records. Girard next conquered the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

when she won the gold in her weight class in Guadalajara. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Girard participated in the women's 63 kg. She finished fourth in the snatch portion, then second in the clean and jerk, lifting 133 kg. Her total of 236 kg put her third, behind

Maiya Maneza Maiya Salakharqyzy Maneza (; ; born 1 November 1985) is a Kazakhstani weightlifter. She initially won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 63 kg category by lifting a combined weight of 245 kg and set a new Olympic record ...

and Svetlana Tsarukayeva. She became the first Canadian woman, and third Canadian overall, to win a medal in weightlifting. Girard said that winning the Olympic medal was one of her top two best moments in life, "It is very hard to describe how I feel. Four years ago in Beijing I came fourth, and since then I have spent the past four years training through injuries and various changes in my life to get to this moment. All I have been thinking about is getting on the podium. Now I have reached it. It feels good. I should say my wedding comes close, but this is completely different.'' In July 2016, the

International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation, aka IWF, is the international governing body for the sport of Weightlifting. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, it has 193 affiliated national federations. Mohammed Hasan Jalood has been its presid ...

(IWF) reported that the IOC reanalyses of samples taken in 2012 uncovered prohibited anabolic agents in both the gold medallist and silver medallist. These were confirmed in 2018, making Girard the first Canadian gold medallist in female weightlifting since its introduction in 2000. This was confirmed in April 2018. After a reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August 2016, the IWF reported that silver medallist

Irina Nekrassova Irina Nekrassova (born 1 March 1988) is a female weightlifter from Kazakhstan. Career At the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships she ranked 9th in the 69 kg category, lifting 228 kg in total. She initially won the silver medal in ...

had used a prohibited substance. This was confirmed in 2018 and Girard was awarded a bronze medal, preceding her previous standing of first female Canadian weightlifting medallist to 2008. Girard received both the Beijing bronze and London gold medals at a ceremony in Ottawa on December 3, 2018. In October 2019, Girard was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...

's Hall of Fame. In July 2020, Girard was inducted into the Pan-American Weightlifting Federation's Hall of Fame. In February 2023, Girard was named Chef de Mission for Team Canada at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Coaching

Girard began coaching other athletes in weightlifting after her move to BC while she was preparing for the

. Upon her return from the Olympic Games, Girard began coaching in a greater capacity. She started her own weightlifting club – the Kilophile Weightlifting Club – and offers coaching services to other fitness centres notably in

Crossfit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

Gyms.

Anti-Doping Advocacy

Girard is involved in anti-doping advocacy work at both the domestic and international level. Girard is on the board of directors at th
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
the

's Anti-Doping Commission and is an Education Ambassador with the

International Testing Agency The International Testing Agency, often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers ...

Personal life

Girard was born in

Elliot Lake Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium ca ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

but moved with her family to

in 1992 when she was seven. She then moved to White Rock,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in January 2010, before returning to Quebec in 2018, this time settling in the city of

in Canada's National Capital Region. Weightlifting was a family affair for Girard and her family continues to hold provincial and local roles for the sport in Quebec. On June 11, 2011 she married her coach Walter Bailey. She has three children.

Occupational Therapy

In 2021, Girard received her Masters of Health Sciences Degree in

Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. Girard is a practicing Occupational Therapist, and is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario and Association canadienne des ergothérapeutes.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Christine 1985 births Living people Canadian female weightlifters Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in weightlifting Olympic weightlifters for Canada People from Elliot Lake Sportspeople from Rouyn-Noranda Sportspeople from White Rock, British Columbia Sportspeople from British Columbia Strength sportspeople from Quebec Strength sportspeople from Ontario Weightlifters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2007 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2011 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists in weightlifting Pan American Games silver medalists in weightlifting Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games weightlifters for Canada Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian sportswomen Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games University of Ottawa alumni Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting Commonwealth Games silver medallists in weightlifting Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in weightlifting