Josée Chouinard

Josée Chouinard (born August 21, 1969 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian figure skater. Chouinard was a strong technical skater (with impressive jumps and spins), skated well-choreographed programs, and was both attractive and relatively charismatic. Although she won the Canadian Ladies Championship three times, she never won a medal at the World Figure Skating Championships or the Winter Olympics. She did achieve some international success and recognition, however, as she routinely placed in the top 10 or top 5 in major skating competitions.

She is perhaps best remembered for having had the misfortune of skating after Tonya Harding's first attempt in the free skate at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Tonya's skate lace broke and needed to be replaced. After a false start, she was granted a re-skate. Josée was then called out onto the ice prematurely and unexpectedly. Many observers felt her shaky performance was the result of being forced to skate before she had fully prepared herself. She wore black gloves throughout the competition, and this quickly became her indentifying trademark on the ice.

She left the sport after the spring of 1994, only to return in the fall of 1995. She won the Skate International of France, defeating the current World Champion, Chen Lu, and qualified for the first Champions' Series Final, where she finished 3rd. She did not, however, qualify for the 1996 World Championships (held in Edmonton, Alberta).

After retiring from the amateur ranks, she toured and competed as a popular professional. At the 2000 Sears Canadian Open, in a controversial decision, she defeated reigning World Champion Michelle Kwan and Sarah Hughes despite a fall on a triple jump.

In January 2005, she gave birth to twins, Fiona and Noah.

In 2007, Josee and her husband Jean-Michel Bombardier separated legally.

She is currently the Head Coach of the Competitive Skating Program at The Granite Club in Toronto, Ontario.

She also hosts a series of advertisements on Canadian television entitled 'Zoot Review' -- commercials designed to appear as informal chat about products such as Hamburger Helper. Currently she has been helping some girls at the Whitby Figure skating club.

Results

Event	1988-89	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96
Winter Olympics				9th		9th
World Championships			6th	5th	9th	5th
Canadian Championships		3rd	1st	2nd	1st	1st		2nd
Champions Series Final								3rd
Skate America				9th
Skate Canada International			1st		3rd			3rd
Trophee Lalique								1st
Nations Cup				8th		4th
NHK Trophy			4th		9th
Karl Schäfer Memorial		1st
Nebelhorn Trophy	2nd

Other Results

2000 Sears Canadian Open, 1st
1993 Piruetten, 2nd