Christine Girard named Team Canada’s Chef de Mission for Santiago 2023

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has announced Olympic and Pan American Games champion in weightlifting, Christine Girard, as Team Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

“I feel so grateful and excited to be named Team Canada’s Chef de Mission for Santiago 2023,” said two-time Olympian Girard. “Looking back on my own career, I still fondly remember the Chefs who supported me. One of my goals as Chef de Mission is to pay that forward.

“Athletic integrity and values mean a lot to me. What matters even more than what happens on the field of play is how we’re representing ourselves and our country off of it. I’m really looking forward to sharing these values and experiences with Team Canada athletes.”

Girard is Canada’s first Olympic champion in weightlifting, having won the gold medal in the women’s 63kg category at London 2012. In her Olympic debut at Beijing 2008, she captured bronze and became the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal. Both of those medals were awarded several years later when athletes who had initially placed ahead of her were disqualified due to doping infractions.

This experience led to Girard becoming an active ambassador and advocate for safe, ethical and fair sport. She is an International Testing Agency Education Ambassador and an International Weightlifting Federation Anti-Doping Commission Member.

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