Michel Vaillancourt
Michel Vaillancourt (born July 26, 1954) is a Canadian show jumper who won an individual silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. He tied for second place with Debbie Johnsey and François Mathy, but won the silver in a jump-off. Vaillancourt finished in fifth place with the Canadian team.[1]
| Vaillancourt, Michel | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Michel Vaillancourt | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Show jumping | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 26, 1954 Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Quebec, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 148 lb (67 kg; 10 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Vaillancourt started training in horse riding aged 12, encouraged by his father, an equestrian coach who died in a horse riding accident in 1971. At his first international competition, Vaillancourt won a team bronze medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He won a silver team medal at the next Games in 1979. Vaillancourt missed the 1980 Olympics in Moscow that were boycotted by Canada, and competed at the Alternate Olympics, winning a team gold medal. After retiring from competitions he worked as a course designer and coach, supervising the Canadian equestrian team at the 1994 and 1998 Olympics. He was inducted into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame in 2009.[1][2]