Nathalie Lambert

Nathalie Lambert
Medal record
Women's short track speed skating
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
1992 Albertville 3000m relay
1994 Lillehammer 1000m
1994 Lillehammer 3000m relay
World Championships
1986 Chamonix 3000m relay
1987 Montreal 3000m relay
1988 St. Louis 3000m relay
1989 Solihull 3000m relay
1990 Amsterdam 3000m relay
1991 Sydney 1500m
1991 Sydney 1000m
1991 Sydney 3000m
1991 Sydney Overall
1991 Sydney 3000m relay
1992 Denver 3000m relay
1993 Beijing Overall
1993 Beijing 3000m relay
1994 Guildford Overall
1994 Guildford 3000m relay
1997 Nagano 3000m relay
1986 Chamonix Overall
1987 Montreal Overall
1984 Peterborough Overall
1985 Amsterdam Overall

Nathalie Lambert, OC (born December 1, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating. She won one Gold medal and two Silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and was Canada's flag bearer at the 1992 Albertville Olympics closing ceremony.[1] She is also a three-time Overall World Champion for 1991, 1993 and 1994.

Lambert won the 11 international competitions in which she participated, between 1992 and 1994. She won the all-around world championship three times: in 1991, 1993 and 1994. In 1991 she dethroned her legendary teammate, the 5 time overall World Champion- Sylvie Daigle, who she had been chasing for years, and often finished 2nd to.

Despite it not typically being her best event she was one of the gold medal favorites for the 500 metre gold at the 1992 Olympics and then became the favorite after fellow leading contenders- her teammate Sylvie Daigle and Zhang Yanmei of China both were eliminated in the heats. Unfortunately she had a fall in the semis when she got caught up with Marina Pylayeva of Russia and as a result did not make the final. She rebounded from the disappointment to lead the Canadian team to gold in the relay. In 1994 she went in as the favorite in both the 500 and 1000 metres but again fell in the semis of the 500, and was just nipped for the 1000 metre gold in the last lap by Chun Lee Kyung of Korea (the winner of the next 3 world overall titles, and a 4 time Olympic Gold medalist), settling for silver. She added another silver in the relay, after the Chinese team which finished 2nd was disqualified.

After retiring, she made a comeback to the sport in 1997, and performed respectably at the 1997 World Short Track Championships. She seemed to be on pace for a place on the 1998 Canadian Olympic team, but an injury took her out of the running.

Despite her surprising failure to win an individual Olympic gold medal, Natalie is regarded by many as one of the best short track speed skaters in history. She was most well known for her burst of speeds and power, as well as her technical brilliance, and her longevity as a top competitor reached rare heights in the sport.

On June 30, 2016, Lambert was made a Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston. Her citation read: "For her achievements in Olympic Sport and for her tremendous contributions to athletics in Canada as a renowned mentor and spokesperson." [2]

Records

Awards

Personal life

Lambert is currently married to Daniel Gaudette, a physical education teacher, and adopted two daughters from China.

References

  1. ↑ "1992 Albertville". Canadian Olympic Committee. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Globe and Mail Staff (June 30, 2016). "Canada's Honour Roll". Globe and Mail.
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