(Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer) From her first discussion with her new coach, Maude Charron put her cards on the table: “I would like to qualify for Paris, but I don’t want a medal. »
Coming from an ultra-competitive athlete, such a statement is surprising. However, she rather reassured Spencer Arnold.
“Relieving the pressure of winning another medal, even for the coach, is a lot,” notes the weightlifter from Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer. So it was said three years ago: to Paris, I’m bringing my family and I’m going to experience the Olympic Games. No pandemic, no masks, no tests, no stress. »
Upon her return from Tokyo in July 2021, the gold medalist was surprised by the repercussions of her victory. Media and public attention had not been part of his preparation. This took place in her father’s garage, due to lack of help from the politicians she had requested. Suddenly, everyone was tearing her away, even though she simply wanted to return to the comfort of her home in Bas-du-Fleuve.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Maude Charron at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021
In the following weeks, she felt like a pregnant woman whose belly no longer belonged to her.
“People were happy and proud, and I understand that they did not have bad intentions. But I spent a year training by myself in a closed world. There, you come back, and you don’t even have time to assimilate what you experienced. »
She accepted the invitations, even though she found the dynamic “weird.”
Everyone wants your attention, to talk to you, to take a photo with you. But where were you last year when I wrote to you asking for help? It was very much “our” champion, “our” medal… Hey, I was all alone doing that!
Maude Charron
It took her a while to understand his reaction. A discussion with goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé, hero of the Canadian soccer team in Tokyo, was enlightening in this sense.
“It was fun to be able to share that with someone who experienced the same thing, but in a different sport,” Charron testified the day after this meeting as part of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) in Montreal, in December.
“It normalizes what I experienced, the compromises we make. Coming back from Tokyo, we didn’t have any celebrations with the Prime Minister because the entire COC focused on the Winter Games which were coming six months later. We didn’t really have a place for discussion. It seems like it’s the only way I’ve had to process it all. »
At the beginning of April, the Quebec weightlifter sent a message by winning bronze at the Phuket World Cup, the last qualifying event for the Olympics. She achieved two important objectives by beating the Colombian Yenny Álvarez, world champion in 2022, and her “idol”, the Taipei Kuo Hsing-chun, holder of the Olympic crown in the 59 kg category.
“I have the impression of winning a medal at the Olympic Games,” reacted Maude Charron due to the quality of the opposition in Thailand. This will be less at the Olympics due to the limitation on registrations imposed by the International Olympic Committee.
Two and a half years later, what would Spencer Arnold think of his initial statement? “Of course he would say that I can win gold tomorrow morning in Paris… But we still have a long way to go. »
Read “Maude Charron: The anti-star Olympic champion”
With Tokyo and Murph on the beach
What Maude Charron never tires of are her daily walks on the flats of Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer, with her dogs Tokyo and Murph.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Murph, in the back, and Tokyo on the beach of Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer
The first was adopted a year and a half after returning from the Olympic Games. Originally, his chum and she wanted to bring a dog back from Japan. The matter turned out to be too complicated. So they turned to Chiots Nordiques, a charity dedicated to finding solutions to dog overpopulation in Indigenous communities.
Murph was rescued in the forest near a neighboring village.
“Tokyo always has energy to burn and that allows me to get some fresh air, to move, to do something other than staying in my house,” explains the weightlifter while attaching the leashes to a harness.
In a few minutes, we reach the wooden promenade of Anse-aux-Coques surrounded by its colorful residences. Works from the Sculpturales symposium dot the decor.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
The Anse-aux-Coques promenade in Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer
Maude went to primary school in the village further up, which was called Luceville before it was merged in 2001. From the fifth grade, she practiced gymnastics in a sports-study program in Rimouski. Like her big brother and little sister, she finished high school in art studies, with a concentration in music. His instrument: the oboe.
“We had music and harmony competitions,” she remembers.
We return via the pebble beach where the kelp finishes drying. Murph and Tokyo take advantage of this to gain momentum. The cove is the place for practicing water sports such as kayaking and kitesurfing. Maude Charron practices paddle surfing.
“Murph actually with me.” He even has his little jacket. »
After gymnastics, she studied circus arts at CEGEP Limoilou, in Quebec. She specialized in the Russian bar, a slightly crazy thing where an acrobat twirls from a flexible bar narrower than a beam and manipulated by two handlers.
“It’s lots of fun, but it’s also dangerous. »
From jumping so much, she developed shin splints. So she started “jumping” on her hands, which caused shin splints on her forearms. She fell back on the aerial, but she dislocated a shoulder.
“I was just so hurt all over that I couldn’t do anything. »
While her friends were hired by circus companies, she returned to Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer, heartbroken.
This circus experience still serves him in weightlifting.
“Why do viewers remember a clown or a strong character? A competition is like a show. Even if you fail your six attempts, what will people remember you for? Because you were angry or because you smiled and felt happy? Even if things go badly, the show must go on. »
The goals don’t matter.