CHAREST CANADA’S 2018 CHEF DE MISSION.
Isabelle Charest trained for Olympic glory as an athlete by skating in circles for countless hours nearly every day for decades on end.
The preparation for her next assignment came through an apprenticeship, of sorts, as the assistant chef de mission for Canada at the 2016 Rio Summer Games and the chef de mission at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer.
To bed at 2 a.m. Awake at 6 a.m. Repeat for 16 days straight.
“It was very tiring,” the 46- year- old retired speedskater told Postmedia on Monday. “But it was very exciting. You go through so many emotions. And at the end of the day, you can’t go to bed, because you have to process everything. But at the end of the Games, it’s just something so fulfilling.”
On Monday, the Canadian Olympic Committee named Charest chef de mission for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In what is a volunteer role, Charest will serve as the official spokesperson for a Canadian contingent shooting to improve on the 25 medals won at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
The chef de mission also is charged with mentoring athletes, coaches and staff and working to create an atmosphere where athletes can deliver their best performance.
Charest calls it “protecting the bubble.” Distractions abound at every Olympics, from the Zika virus in Rio to terrorist threats in Sochi to talk of human rights abuses in Beijing.
Pyeongchang is located in the province of Gangwon. To the north lies the Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ), which separates North Korea from South Korea.
“There are always issues with security,” Charest said. “I was in Salt Lake City after 9/ 11. We always have to focus on making sure the athletes are secure, along with the staff and the mission team. So we work closely with the RCMP and other organizations to make sure we provide a safe environment. Of course, Pyeongchang is not going to be any different. We are never going to neglect the security of our athletes.”
Charest, of Rimouski, Que., won Olympic silver in the 3,000- metre team relay at the 1994 Lillehammer Games along with relay bronze in Nagano ( 1998) and Salt Lake City (2002.)
Charest works as a communications coordinator for the Commission scolaire du Val- des- Cerfs, a school board in Granby, Que. She is married to former Canadian Football League defensive line man Steve Charbonne au. The couple has two children.