CONTENTS
Life Stories
Catriona Le May Doan
The fastest woman on ice relies on speed and skill to navigate the skating oval, but she relies on God's strength to navigate life.
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In spite of her tremendous success, confidence sometimes eludes her. "There are many times when I am frustrated, I feel inadequate, I feel weak," says the Calgary resident.
In these times, she turns to the Bible for help, recalling a verse which gives her courage: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NIV)
"When I think of this verse, I don't get as scared or as nervous," Catriona says. "I would often recite this in my head when I was so nervous before a big race and it gave me peace."
"(Because of this verse) I know that God will never let me go through more than I can handle," she proclaims, "He will always give me the strength to get through any situation."
Catriona is the only Canadian athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title, having won gold in the 500m at both the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. In Nagano, she also won a bronze in the 1000m distance. She is a three-time recipient (1998, 2001, 2002) of the Canadian Female Athlete of the Year award.
On May 22, 2003, Catriona announced her retirement from competitive speed skating, saying "I've accomplished what I wanted to accomplish, so it's time to move on, and to help another generation reach the podium." (Maclean's, June 2, 2003)
She remains very active as a motivational speaker, doing some work with the CBC, serving on the board of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and labouring on behalf of charities like Right to Play, which is committed to improving the lives of children and their communities by getting them active in sports.
"Well I'm definitely busier than I've ever been and absolutely loving it," she told the Canadian Press in January.
