• Champion Hockey Player • Olympic Gold Medalist • Olympic Silver Medalist
In her Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Jocelyne Larocque, playing with national Team Canada, won Gold.
In the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, however, Larocque and Team Canada were awarded the Silver Medal. Second place. And the 3-2 loss to the USA was, momentarily, too much of a disappointment for Jocelyne to take.
Born in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada, Jocelyne Larocque (Metis heritage), is so competitive, she removed her Silver Medal from around her neck and kept it in her hand during the entire PyeongChang presentation ceremony. The reason for such drastic action? Her team's 3-2 defeat by the USA. And Larocque had expected GOLD!
Because most aspiring Olympians are overjoyed to receive any medal at all in a worldwide event such as the Olympics, as one would expect, Larocque's actions garnered lots of social media attention. After reflecting on her actions, however, the following day, Larocque issued an apology to the International Olympics Committee, Hockey Canada, her teammates, the International Olympics Committee, PyeongChang Olympic Organizing Committee, and others:
"In the moment, I was disappointed with the outcome of the game, and my emotions got the better of me. I meant no disrespect--it has been an honour to represent my country and win a medal for Canada," she stated. "I'm proud of our team, and proud to be counted among the Canadian athletes who have won medals at these games. Being on the podium at the world's biggest sporting event is a great achievement and one that I'm thankful I was able to experience with my teammates."
Although Jocelyne found the PyeongChang Gold Medal elusive, she has a tally of other wins of which to be proud:
She graduated with honors (2011) from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a bachelor of accounting degree and as the Bulldogs' all-time defensemen scoring leader with 105 points for 19 goals and 86 assists in 127 games.
Larocque has also played with other teams that include the Markham Thunder, the Calgary Inferno, the Manitoba Maple Leafs, the Women's Ice Hockey League, and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. While playing With the Bulldogs, Larocque was a two-time (2008, 2010) NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament champion and the first indigenous athlete to participate in the women's ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics.
In addition to being a hockey player and a Canadian ice hockey player, Larocque is also an independent member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) which has as its mission, "to promote, advance and support a single, viable professional women's ice hockey league in North America that showcases the greatest product of women's professional ice hockey in the world."
But for all her outstanding performances as a hockey player, the way has not always been easy for Larocque. In 2009, she was cut from Team Canada's Olympic roster. In 2013, Larocque was traded by the Calgary Inferno to the Brampton Thunder for a fellow Manitoban.
Yet, as part of her apology that followed the Silver Medal incident, Jocelyne Larocque stated, "I take seriously being a role model to young girls and representing our country." And although there is scarce information about her family and private life, as part of her apology following the PyeongChang Silver Medal incident, she said that "My actions did not demonstrate the values of our team, myself, and my family and for that I am truly sorry."
That said, despite all her triumphs and disappointments, Jocelyn Larocque continues undaunted in the sport she loves and has even been called hockey's next female superstar!
Sources:
Mark Faulkner, the Detroit News
Wikipedia
PWHPA News web page
CelebsAgePageWiki
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