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Date of Birth: 08/02/77 |
Place of Birth: Sherbrooke, QC |
Residence: Montreal, QC |
Height: 5'5" |
Weight: 144 lbs |
Years on National Team: 4 |
Mathieu Turcotte is among the fastest skaters on the Canadian team. At the recent trials he demonstrated he is mastering the strategical side of
the sport by qualifying for 11 of the 12 finals. Turcotte was a substitute on the 1998 Olympic team and a member of the gold medal Canadian
squads at the world team championships in 1998, 2000 and 2001. He also stepped on the podium three times during the 1999-2000 World Cup
season.
Off the ice, Turcotte is a certified orthesist and prosthesis technician, in other words he designs artificial limbs for amputees. "It's a complicated
process and artificial limbs always need adjustments," he said. "It's quite similar to what we have to do with our blades when we skate. I can do
artificial ears and eyes but after I started working I specialized in limbs."
Turcotte says he enjoyed his Olympic experience in 1998 but is looking forward to being more involved on the ice at Salt Lake City. At the trials
in November he finished second overall and qualified to race the 1,000-metres.
What Canada Did
Feb. 23 - Men's 5,000-metre relay: Mathieu Turcotte, Montreal; Francois-Louis Tremblay, Boucherville, Que.; Marc Gagnon, Pointe-aux-Trembles, and Jonathan Guilmette, Montreal, won gold medal.
Feb. 16 - Men's 1,000 metres: Mathieu Turcotte, Montreal, won bronze medal after setting Olympic record in quarteer-final heat
Feb. 13 - Men's 1,000 metres: Mathieu Turcotte, Montreal, was second in heat, advanced.
Feb. 13 - Men's 5,000-metre relay: Eric Bedard, Ste-Thecle, Que.; Marc Gagnon, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que.; Francois-Louis Tremblay, Boucherville, Que., and Mathieu Turcotte, Montreal, set Olympic record time of six minues 45.455 seconds in winning first-round heat, advanced to final.
Mathieu Turcotte Photos
Turcotte and Gagnon carry teammate Bedard
Team Canada celebrates its relay victory
Team Canada shows off their gold medals
The Canadian team skates with their flag
Mathieu Turcotte leads Jiajun Li
Mathieu Turcotte and Apolo Anton Ohno plough into the wall
Mathieu Turcotte gets his skate blade across the finish line
2002 Games Short Track Speed Skating Coverage
