Canadian Olympic Foundation
Isabelle Charest brings experience to Youth Olympic Games
When Canada’s aspiring Winter Olympians head to the Youth Olympic Games in 2016, they’ll have an experienced leader to lean on.
It was announced on Monday that three-time Olympic medallist Isabelle Charest is the Chef de Mission for Team Canada at Lillehammer 2016. Charest’s medals – a silver and two bronze – came in the span of three Olympic Winter Games in the 3000m relay, her first a second place finish in Lillehammer 1994, where she will return to lead Canada’s youth participants next year.
Isabelle Charest (far right) celebrates the bronze medal in team pursuit at Salt Lake City 2002.
Charest said the role of leading Canadian youth athletes is an “honour” for her and she hopes that the Lillehammer experience will fuel young winter athletes’ drive to shine for Team Canada at future Olympics and that her experience will “help the next generation of athletes.”
The Youth Olympic Games parallels the senior competition, taking place every two years alternating between summer and winter competition. The first of these Games took place in Singapore in 2010, which followed a winter edition in Innsbruck, Austria two years later. Returning to the summer calendar in 2014, the Youth Games were held in Beijing.
