Maryse Turcotte

A will of steel: interview with Maryse Turcotte

Do you know Maryse Turcotte? She is Canada's most successful weightlifter and a role model for any young person who want to succeed in the sport and in life. Here's what she had to tell us.

Hi, Maryse. Could you tell us how you got started weightlifting?
I was 15 and in Secondary 4. I discovered the sport when I volunteered for a provincial weightlifting championship at my school. Before that, I didn't even know there was a weightlifting club! It was a new sport for me and I was curious. Since I'm pretty athletic (soccer, volleyball, cycling, figure skating, etc.), I felt like giving it a try.

What got you hooked to the sport?
I was drawn by two aspects of weightlifting: the individual side of it, the idea of competing against myself to improve, and the social aspect of team training.

What qualities are required to succeed in weightlifting?
I'd say it's a combination of physical and mental skills. You don't need to be strong or muscular at first, but you need to have the capacity to build that strength. Mentally, you have to persevere, resist stress, have good concentration skills and have the will to push yourself beyond your limits. Competitions help develop these skills.

It's clear that not everyone can reach the international level, but the sport lets you set realistic personal performance objectives for yourself, and the trainers are there to help you meet them.

At the beginning, how much time did you devote to training?
When I first started, I would train one to one and a half hours, three times a week. The first few years are spent mostly learning techniques and how to do all the movements correctly. The important thing is not to lift the heaviest possible weight, but to do it correctly. As for strength, that comes gradually.

What kind of teenager were you?
I was rather shy and kept to myself in school. I kept still in class, but once I got home I had a lot of energy to spend. I did a lot of sports to channel that energy.

Weightlifting allowed me to enjoy my teen years. My teachers and other kids in school also gave me a lot of encouragement. When I started getting results and the regional newspapers started writing articles about me, I felt really proud.

You competed in the Jeux du Québec. Tell us about your experience.
I took part in the Jeux du Québec several times; with my soccer team in 1987 and in weightlifting in 1991 and 1993. It was the first time I participated in such an important competition, and I loved it! Representing your region, supporting each other, sharing the team spirit . . . it was like mini Olympics! And I met tons of people in a great atmosphere. It's an experience I wish for all young people.

What does the sport bring you and what drives you in it?
Weightlifting is certainly a sport that can be defined as serious, since it requires concentration and a lot of strength. You can't have fun weightlifting like you can have playing volleyball, for example.

I like moving and staying in shape. I like the atmosphere of competitions and being able to push myself beyond my limits. I like to feel the pride that comes after training. Most of all, I like training with people in the club, and laughing and having fun with them.

What's the ideal age to start?
Ideally, it's around 12 because that's when you can learn the technique quickly since you are very flexible. I started at 15 and I was already less flexible plus I had sprained my ankle at least twenty times playing soccer! It was harder for me. That's probably why it took me a long time to reach a certain performance level. I had to work hard . . . and I still do now, actually.

Until what age can you do this sport?
You can do it your whole life! Some athletes still compete at age 70 and 75. But for elite, competition-level weightlifters, the ideal age is 33 or 34. Until that age, there is still a lot of training to be done, and afterwards, your strength begins to wane.

Personally, I expect I will be training for a long time. I'm 29 and I think I can compete on an international level for a maximum of two to four more years. But I think I'm going to continue training the rest of my life to stay in shape.

Is weightlifting an expensive sport?
It's a sport that costs very little. All you need is a pair of shorts and a pair of sports shoes.

All the equipment and materials required belong to the weightlifting club where you go for training. You need to be a member of the Federation (around $35 per year) to be able to train in the clubs, which are usually located in high schools. Weightlifting is a more affordable sport because the trainers work on a volunteer basis for their love for the sport. Athletes don't have to pay for private trainers. Competing on the international level is more expensive, though, because of the expense of traveling to other countries.

How much time and effort does it take to get to a higher level? Or to get to the Olympics?
With talent and lots of training, I'd say between 8 and 10 years. This was the case for me.

Is it a dangerous sport?
Not really, as long as you use the proper technique and obey certain basic rules. The injury rate is very low when the sport is practised in a weightlifting club with a good trainer.

It's usually beginners, who are more foolhardy and who try to lift too much weight without knowing the proper technique. The trainer's role is to oversee athletes and provide them with safe limits. When you've been training for a long time, you get to know your strength well enough not to injure yourself.

Have you ever gotten injured practising the sport?
Three years after I started training, during a competition, I did not obey one of the basic rules of weightlifting: I hadn't grabbed the bar properly and I should have let go without straining. I pulled some ligaments in my elbow. If it had happened later in my career, it could have been more serious because I would have had more weight on the bar. Let me tell you, I learned a lot from that experience.

Did you continue going to school while you were training and entering competitions?
I like going to school, so I took advantage of my weightlifting career to pursue my studies. I studied to be a dietician at the Cégep de Maisonneuve, and then did a B.A. in Administration. I just finished my M.A. in Health Administration in June.

I consider myself good in school, but not because of any innate talent. I have to work hard to perform. But I have good discipline and good work technique, and I have to say sports helped me a lot with that!

I think it's hard, when you're young, to choose what you're going to do later. I always studied things I was interested in.

How did you manage to meet your financial obligations?
When you're active in sports and go to school, there's little time left over for part-time work.

I started making money in my sport when I got my first major scholarship, in 1997, while I was a student in Cegep. I was training 20 hours a week and got by, like many students, on loans and scholarships.

What are your next challenges and goals?
After the Olympics in Athens, I decided to take two months off to rest. It was the first time I'd taken such a long vacation from training in 14 years. Even if I wasn't injured, training does cause a certain amount of physical pain. It's also very demanding mentally. But I have to admit that after two months off, I was ready to start up again.

The next two major competitions for me in 2005 are the Canadian Championships, in May and the World Championships, in September.

To finish the interview, what is your best sports memory?
When I won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Vancouver in 2003, I had an excellent performance and was one of the best in the competition. But most of all, I earned the medal when no one thought I had any real chance of winning, not even me!