Four years later, it’s different for these sisters
PYEONGCHANG, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF — At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the Dufour-Lapointe sisters captured the hearts of Canadians.
With Justine and Chloe winning moguls medals and oldest sister Maxime also competing, photos of them celebrating together lit up social media.
The three sisters were together again Monday at the Pyeongchang Games, but the experience was bittersweet this time.
At a news conference following Justine’s silver medal win Sunday, Chloe was still showing the emotions of a disappointing 17thplace finish while Maxime was on the outside looking in after she didn’t make the team.
But the tight-knit family is taking it all in stride, said Chloe.
“Maxime wasn’t here as an athlete, but each Games have their history,” said 26-year-old Chloe. “It was written differently than Sochi and that’s OK. Each Games are marvellous. We’ll profit from the rest of the Games to have fun together and laugh, and we’ll have great souvenirs to one day tell our kids or our parents at dinner because they want to know everything.” Silver medalist Justine Dufour-Lapointe reacts during the medal ceremony for Freestyle Skiing Ladies’ Moguls.
The three sisters revealed before the World Cup in MontTremblant, Que., in January that their mother had fought cancer over the course of the last year. Even though she’s now in remission, the experience took a toll.
All the family members, including parents Johane and Yves, were emotional Monday.
“There’s always that pain in us and that fear that the cancer will come back,” Justine, 23, said. “With the Games that were coming, we were tired and we had to do something. That’s the reason why we spoke publicly. It relieved some pressure. We weren’t alone. There was the whole country that really encouraged us, something we really appreciated.”
Justine indicated that her mother’s sickness didn’t affect their physical training, but it was difficult emotionally.
“There were some difficult moments, some nightmares, some doubts,” she said. “What I retained from the path, is that despite the doubts and questions, there’s one single person that can respond to these questions and it’s yourself. You can look at yourself in the mirror and ask the real questions. To reach the Olympic Games, we have to often look in the mirror.
“We had sessions together. That helped put us back in the saddle, to understand that we weren’t alone with this.”
The three sisters indicated that it was too early to know what would happen in the future. They want to take the time to rest and recover before making a decision about the future.
“The three Dufour-Lapointe sisters will always be a trio, no matter what,” said Justine.