Canadian hockey player Larocque wants to see ‘Indigenous athletes excel’ beyond her success
CBC
It all started in 1998.
The Nagano Winter Olympic Games, where women’s hockey made it's debut, is where Team Canada defenceman Jocelyne Larocque ignited her own Olympic dream.
"To think back at that kid, she'd be so excited and proud of me and that means a lot to me and to be able to do something I love for so long, [I'm] just extremely grateful," Larocque told CBC Sports reporter Karissa Donkin at the Olympic training camp in September.
Now at her fourth Games, the two-time Olympic champion and silver medallist has already made history.
The 37-year-old Métis athlete from Ste. Anne, Man., is the most decorated Indigenous athlete in Canadian history across both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Larocque was the first Indigenous woman to play hockey at the Olympics at Sochi 2014, then the first to win an Olympic gold medal at that same Games.
For Larocque, being an Indigenous role model on the world stage is an immense sense of pride.
“I celebrate my culture all the time, and I think it's important for young people, Indigenous [or] not Indigenous, to be able to see it,” Larocque told CBC Sports.
“I think visibility creates dreams and I hope that what I can show is when you love something so much, to dream big and to chase those dreams, and that there's always going to be setbacks and there's always going to be adversity.
“But if you're enjoying the journey and you're enjoying every single day, it's so worth it.”
As a kid, Larocque said there were few Indigenous hockey players to look up to.
“Growing up in this sport, a lot of men were our role models. I dreamed about playing in the NHL, and a lot of my teammates would have dreamed the same thing,” said Larocque, who is Red River Métis.
Larocque said it's wonderful to now have the Professional Women’s Hockey League, where she plays for the Ottawa Charge. As a young female player, she said she often wondered where she belonged.
It was by playing with her older sister, Chantal Fritzsche, and her cousins, that gave her that strength. Fritzsche, who is 18 months older than Larocque, said everyone played hockey together while growing up their a close-knit community.
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