Canadian Dufour-Lapointe sisters embrace after skiing fall at Beijing Olympics
Canadian moguls skiing sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe had already cemented their legacy in the sport well before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Justine had won a gold medal at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, while Chloe finished right behind her with a silver medal. A third sister, Maxine, finished 12th in the event, one of just five times in Olympic history three siblings had competed in the same discipline.
With Justine adding a silver four years later in Pyeongchang, both her and Chloe had a chance to add a fourth family medal in Beijing this year.
An unfortunate fall on her first run in Sunday’s final after the first jump by Justine effectively ended her chances of a return to the podium.
But as one enduring Olympic image of heartbreak emerged, a second, more powerful one came shortly after. Chloe went to go give her sister what she’s always done: a nice pep talk, and a big, warm hug.
When the moguls event was all said and done, Justine finished 20th, while Chloe finished ninth. Fellow Canadian Sofiane Gagnon finished 12th.
Talking to CBC after the event, Justine spoke about why it was important for her to finish the moguls event despite the fall, and what her sisters meant to her at her third Olympics appearance.
"Thank you so much to everyone at home. I love you so much. I always felt all your support. You were here until the end" ā¤ļø
Justine Dufour-Lapointe talks about never giving up, her sisters, and sends love to everyone back home
A class act š pic.twitter.com/Ti0YeSb04W
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 6, 2022
“I had to cry… I had to let it out,” Justine said of the embrace with Chloe.
But both in the event and afterwards, there was only one option to finish it out: get up and keep going.
“I had to finish this Olympic dream on my two feet,” Justine said. “The only that is important is to never give up. That was my choice, to stay up, and keep skiing, even though it was painful. Life is not always so easy, but I want everyone to know at home that I never give up.”
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