Joannie Rochette veut plus de podiums

Lori Ewing La Presse - 30 octobre 2008
Ottawa - Depuis le début de sa carrière internationale, Joannie Rochette a patiné à plusieurs reprises devant des arénas remplis à craquer.
La quadruple championne canadienne de patinage artistique a fait appel à Nichol dans l'espoir d'atteindre le podium aux championnats du monde de patinage artistique de 2009 ainsi qu'aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver en 2010.

Elle souhaite que les deux nouvelles routines qu'elle présentera au cours de la fin de semaine et sa nouvelle approche lui permettront de monter plus régulièrement sur le podium, elle qui a frappé à la porte pendant quelques années.

Rochette a également changé ses habitudes de vie en emménageant à Montréal avec son copain François-Louis Tremblay, un triple champion du monde de patinage de vitesse sur courte piste qu'elle a rencontré aux Jeux de Turin en 2006.

Rochette pourra mesurer l'impact de ces bouleversements cette fin de semaine, alors qu'elle patinera devant sa propre foule lors d'un des nombreux événements qui s'inscrivent dans la préparation pour les prochains Jeux olympiques.

Rochette a changed figure skater
Support staff, program get major overhauls
Wayne Scanlan, The Ottawa Citizen October 31, 2008
Rochette and Tremblay share an apartment in Montreal. It's a huge boost to have a boyfriend who knows first hand the issues that come with being a competitive athlete.

"I wouldn't talk about it otherwise," Rochette says of her relationship. "It's really helpful, especially that we live together. "We really help each other."

As if it weren't enough that Tremblay is the better cook of the two, he takes Rochette's figure skates in to be sharpened along with his own long blades. Thoughtful guy. He's also an avid reader -- he reads Rochette like a book.

"He understands me," Rochette says. "He came home from his World Cup two days ago, and I was a bit more nervous than usual, so we can talk about it. I don't even have to tell him, he knows. He knows when he needs to calm me down. ''He's so calm, I don't need to calm him down."

One of Rochette's goals is to be so calm in Vancouver, she feels right at home.

Rochette aims for world stage
By SHANE ROSS, SUN MEDIA October 30, 2008
OTTAWA -- Joannie Rochette has moved to the next level in her personal life, now she wants to do the same in her professional life. ... If she's feeling more confident, perhaps it's partly because she's seeing first-hand what it takes be a world-class athlete. In July, she moved into a new apartment in downtown Montreal with boyfriend Francois-Louis Tremblay, a three-time world speed skating champion. Their romance began at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, where Tremblay won two silver medals in short-track and Rochette finished fifth in women's figure skating. "He is a big, big Canadiens fan," she said. "I didn't used to watch hockey, but now I do and on my fridge I even have a picture of Alex Kovalev."