Valérie Maltais

Name of coach	Gregor Jelonek [national], CAN
When and where did you begin this sport?	She took up short track in 1996 in Saguenay, QC, Canada. She competed in the sport for 22 years before switching to speed skating in 2018 in Calgary, AB, Canada.

Awards and honours	In 2022 an ice rink was named after her at the Jean-Claude Tremblay Sports Complex in La Baie, QC, Canada. (lanouvelliste.ca, 16 Jun 2022) In 2012 and 2014 she was named Female Short Track Skater of the Year by Speed Skating Canada . (speedskating.ca, 01 Jan 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Everything happens for a reason." (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019)
Most influential person in career	Her mother, and Dutch speed skater Remmelt Eldering. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)

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Other sports	She represented Canada in short track at the Olympic Winter Games in 2010, 2014, and 2018, winning silver in the 3000m relay at the 2014 Games in Sochi. She has also competed in roller speed skating, finishing seventh in both the 10,000m points competition and the 500m sprint at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Mar 2019)
Nicknames	Vale (olympic.ca, 05 Jun 2015)
Injuries	In August 2017 she had to withdraw from the Canadian trials for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games after suffering concussion in a fall during her 500m semifinal. (cbc.ca, 19 Aug 2017) She was unable to train fully from the middle of 2016 to December that year due to adductor tendinitis and a hip problem. (olympic.ca, 20 Aug 2017) She has experienced ankle problems since the beginning of her career. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2017)
Famous relatives	Her partner Jordan Belchos has represented Canada in speed skating, and competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022. He is also a roller speed skater and won bronze in the 10,000m points race at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (SportsDeskOnline, 14 Nov 2022; Instagram profile, 11 Oct 2021; journaldemontreal.com, 30 Aug 2017)

Club / Team

CPV La Baie: Canada

Other information

SWITCHING SPORTS In June 2018 she announced that she was changing from short track to speed skating. "I started out doing figure skating but I wasn't a dancer on ice, so I went into short track. Now I'm going to do long track. It's like I'm covering the whole Skating Union. I'm still in love with short track and I've seen the evolution of the sport. It is changing year after year, it is becoming bigger and that is very fun to see. But I've always wanted to try long track and now [2018] seems the appropriate time to move on. I'm still young and in good shape, which is the best time to try a new sport. I want to put 100% of my energy into it. It's something I feel I need to do, to make sure that I have no regrets in my career. When I moved to long track, team pursuit was the main event I wanted to be part of. I'd always done relay in short track and I love the team bonding." (plus.lapresse.ca, 21 Oct 2021; lequotidien.com, 05 Oct 2021; Facebook profile, 20 Feb 2021; thespec.com, 03 Mar 2020; isu.org, 05 Jun 2018) FURTHER EDUCATION She has studied for a multidisciplinary bachelor's degree in psychology, communication, philosophy, and human resources at Laval University in Canada. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023; LinkedIn profile, 01 May 2022)

Training Regime

She trains for 57 hours a week.

valeriemaltais.ca/

Memorable sporting achievement	Winning the short track women's 3000m relay with the Quebec team at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, YT, Canada. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)
Milestones	Alongside Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin, she was part of the first Canadian team to win gold in women's team pursuit event at the Olympic Winter Games. The trio claimed victory at the 2022 Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Oct 2023; cbc.ca, 07 Dec 2022) She is the first athlete representing Canada to have won Olympic medals in short track and speed skating. She claimed silver in the 3000m relay [short track] at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, and secured gold in team pursuit [speed skating] at the 2022 Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Nov 2022; olympic.ca, 15 Feb 2022)
Hobbies	Cycling, painting her Canadian national teammates' nails, making coffee, yoga, spending time with her cat. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs	Before competing she completes a stretching routine, watches videos of her cat, and does online shopping. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)

Reason for choosing this sport

"Because swimming was too early in the morning – I like to sleep! Also, as a kid I was too skinny to play football."

Hero / Idol

Canadian speed skater Jordan Belchos, US basketball player Michael Jordan, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)

twitter.com/valemaltais