When asked what’s special about the water at Cardinal-Roy high school that so many of its former students find themselves on the Canadian artistic swimming team at the same time, plus of those who were part of it in the past, Raphaëlle Plante, Laurianne Imbeau and Florence Tremblay burst out laughing.
We thank them, moreover, because it certainly wasn’t the first time they heard it. But, they explain, it is not the water that ensures that many of the swimmers from the program have such great careers.
Rather, it’s the people and what they offer them. “We had coaches who were really… “wow”! points out Raphaëlle, miming a kiss. They want your good. I found it to be the best welcome, the best journey.”
Photo taken from the Instagram account @raphaelleplante
“We had supervision,” adds Laurianne. The coaches were really there for us, and our schedules were flexible.”
30 hours of training already back then
It must be said that synchronized swimming is a sport that requires many hours of daily training. Already in high school, the three swimmers could spend 30 hours a week perfecting their art.
“We don’t train two hours a day,” notes Raphaëlle. That’s what we did when we were younger.”
They all fell in love with this sport in different ways. Originally from Rimouski, Florence Tremblay moved to Quebec at 16, to join the Cardinal-Roy Sports-Études program, and also the Quebec Excellence Synchro club.
A great story thanks to dad
Raphaëlle Plante discovered artistic swimming thanks to her father, Éric, who worked for Cirque du Soleil. It was when she saw swimmers performing tricks in a swimming pool that she decided that she too wanted to try it.
At 21, the Quebec athlete has now been a member of the Canadian senior team for four years. Laurianne, 20 years old and also from Quebec, has been part of it since 2021, and Florence, 19 years old, since 2022.
Will all three friends be at the Olympic Games this summer, for which Canada qualified thanks to its performance at the World Championships in Doha last February? That remains to be seen. Not all members of the training team will find themselves in the pool in Paris.
Photo AFP
In the meantime, training and competitions continue. All three athletes will be in action this weekend in Markham, Ontario, for a World Cup stop.
Photo AFP
Paid every two months
In addition to having honed their talent in the same pool since adolescence, Raphaëlle Plante, Florence Tremblay and Laurianne Imbeau have another thing in common: all three have been scholarship holders, for several years, from the Nordiques Foundation.
This Olympic year, the Foundation will award a total of $400,000 to 121 student-athletes and 12 organizations in the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches region.
Athletes who will take part in the Paris Games will receive an additional scholarship of $5,000 on top of what they usually get.
This amount that they receive is very precious for the three swimmers, now based in Montreal, not far from the Olympic Stadium where they train. Because in addition to the many hours spent in the swimming pool, you of course have to pay the rent and the food.
And a high-level athlete consumes a lot of food, they mention.
Yes, team members are paid to train, emphasizes Laurianne, “but that doesn’t compare to someone who would work full time.”
“And we receive our pay every two months,” continues Raphaëlle. So we are so grateful to receive this scholarship.”
The 2024 scholarship holders of the Nordiques Foundation
Thierry Allen
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Hubert Asselin
Fastpitch softball
Rémi Asselin
Freestyle skiing – slope
Alexia Aubin
Ice Hockey
Victor Baudrand
Escalade
Chad Beaudoin
Cycling – BMX
Gabrielle Beaulieu
Taekwondo
Mathis Beaulieu
Olympic Triathlon
Lily Rose Bégin-Tremblay
Swimming
Adam Ben Nasrallah
Baseball
Nael Kiss
Handball
Simone Boilard
Cycling – road and track
Nolann Boisseau
Gymnastic
Eli Bouchard
Snowboard
Laurence Bouchard
Alpine skiing
Ayoub Bouriel
Taekwondo
Charline Bourque
Judo
Rosalie Breton
Ice Hockey
Anne-Frédérique Brisson
Swimming (para)
Rafaelle Carrier
Cycling – mountain biking
Sandrine Chouinard
Ice Hockey
Maeli Cormier
Volleyball
Marika Couture
Athletics
Leonard Dalcourt-Guillotte
Fencing
Zachary Demers
Biathlon
Jean-Simon Desgagnés
Athletics
Joakim Desmeules
Table tennis
Charlotte C. Désy
Canoeing speed
Hugo Dorval
Escalade
Jeremy Doyon
Beach volleyball
Emma Drolet
Artistic swimming
Alexandre Duchaine
Freestyle skiing – jumps
Sarah Dulude Bellavance
Athletics
Marie-Pier Fauteux
Rugby
Charlie Fleury
Gymnastic
Abigaël Fortier
Cycling – road and track
Julien Frascadore
Judo
Olivier Gagné
Snowboard
Charles-Alexandre Gagnon
Badminton
Liliane Gagnon
Cross-country skiing
Louis David Gagnon
Athletics
Simon Gauthier
Biathlon
Antoine Généreux
Tennis
Lauriane Genest
Cycling – road and track
Amine Ghorbel
Volleyball
Alexandre Giguère
Baseball
Isaac Gingras
Basketball
Coralie Godbout
Judo
Catherine Goupil
Weightlifting
Etienne Gravel
Weightlifting
Marilou Grenier
Ice Hockey
Rose-Anne Grenier
Speed skating – long track
Nicolas Harvey
Olympic Triathlon
Megan Heckey
Alpine skiing
Laurianne Imbeau
Artistic swimming
Noémie Jobin
Artistic swimming
Henri Joyal
Freestyle skiing – slope
Tristan Labarre
Swimming
Etienne Lacasse
Figure skating
Rose Laliberté-Roy
Speed skating – long track
Justine Lamontagne
Alpine skiing
Florence Laroche
Freestyle skiing – moguls
Felix Larochelle
Speed skating – long track
Roxanne LaRose-Carignan
Karate
Juliette Larose-Gingras
Cycling – mountain biking
Charles Elliot Latulippe
Freestyle skiing – moguls
Anne-Léa Lavoie
Golf
Kate Lavoie
Archery
Megan Lebel
Cross-country skiing
Emrick Leclerc
Canoeing speed
Jade Leclerc
Dive
Sharl Leclerc
Fastpitch softball
Hugo Leperlier
Sports 4 murs – Squash
Thomas Loubier
Baseball
Margaux Loyer
Canoeing speed
William Maheux
Judo
Lily-Rose Marois
Cycling – mountain biking
Marylou Martineau
Boccia (para)
Elie Michaud
Artistic swimming
Félix-Olivier Moreau
Cross-country skiing
Hand over Morin
Soccer
Anaïs Morissette
Curling
Philippe Morneau-Cartier
Athletics
Emile Nadeau
Freestyle skiing – jumps
William Nolet
Olympic Triathlon
Xavier Normandin
Cross-country skiing
Inès Nourani
Soccer
Thierry Olivier
Cross-country skiing
Matthew Ouellet
Swimming
Charles Paquet
Olympic Triathlon
Arnaud Parent
Speed skating – long track
Aimé Perreault
Speed skating – long track
Charly Pinel
Golf
Raphaëlle Plante
Artistic swimming
Alix Plomteux
Canoeing speed
Aurélie Poiré
Taekwondo
Elliot Primeau
Freestyle skiing – jumps
Simon Renaud
Snowboard
Maude Ricard
Taekwondo
Aurélie Rivard
Swimming (para)
Anne-Jolie Roy
Gymnastic
Marie-Andrée Roy
Escalade
Olivier Roy
Boccia (para)
Maude Ruelland
Cycling – mountain biking
Loïc-Fabien – The Best Of Loïc-Fabien
Soccer 106
James Savard-Ferguson
Snowboard
William Savard-Forget
Golf
William Sohier
Speed skating – short track
Amelia Sow
Basketball
Andy Tchinda Kepche
Tennis
Anne-Catherine Théberge
Alpine skiing
Justin Thibault
Ice Hockey
Alicia Thibodeau
Volleyball
Florence Tremblay
Artistic swimming
Frédérique Tremblay
Basketball
Liam Tremblay
Dive
Julia Turgeon
Freestyle skiing – moguls
Juliette Vallerand
Snowboard
Roxane Vermette
Cycling – mountain biking
Corinne Vezina
Swimming
Julien C. Much
Freestyle skiing – moguls
2024-05-29 14:59:47
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