Isabelle Brasseur, MSM (born July 28, 1970) is a Canadian former competitive pair skater. With her partner, Lloyd Eisler, she won two Olympic medals and the 1993 World Championships.

Isabelle Brasseur
Other namesIsabelle Brasseur-Marval
Born (1970-07-28) July 28, 1970 (age 54)
Kingsbury, Quebec
HometownSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
Height1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
Country Canada
Retired1994
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Figure skating: Pairs
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Albertville Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Lillehammer Pairs
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Prague Pairs
Silver medal – second place 1990 Halifax Pairs
Silver medal – second place 1991 Munich Pairs
Silver medal – second place 1994 Chiba Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Oakland Pairs

Personal life

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Brasseur was born on July 28, 1970, in Kingsbury, Quebec.[1] She married the American former pairs skater Rocky Marval (Marvaldi) on August 10, 1996. Their daughter, Gabriella Marvaldi, was born on November 1, 2000, in Voorhees Township, New Jersey.[2] Brasseur has vasodepressor syncope, causing her heart to stop for 31 seconds shortly before Gabriella's birth.[3] Her daughter is also a pairs skater and won the 2012 U.S. juvenile pairs title with partner Kyle Hogeboom.[4]

Career

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Early in her career, Brasseur competed with Pascal Courchesne. They were 5th at the 1985 Skate America.

Brasseur teamed up with Eisler in 1987.[citation needed] At the Canadian Figure Skating Championships, they won the gold medal in 1989, came in third place in 1990, reclaimed the title in 1991, and retained it for the next three years. They won the 1993 World Championships, the first time that a non-Russian pairs team won Worlds in nine years. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, they "skated brilliantly",[5] winning both the short program and free skating program. They won bronze medals at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics. They retired and began their "successful" professional careers, including tours with Champions on Ice, in 1994.[5]

Brasseur and Eisler teamed up with Lou-Anne Brosseau (Hunt) in 1992 and formed a company known as B.B.E. Productions Inc. They planned and organized professional figure skating events across Canada. Their main goal was to raise awareness and funds for the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada, which named the duo national spokespersons in September 1992. B.B.E. Productions has won several awards, producing more than 25 shows and raising more than $250,000.00 in awareness and sponsorship for the charity. In the years of operation (1992–2003), B.B.E. also granted several wishes to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

She co-wrote a book, Brasseur & Eisler: To Catch a Dream, in 1996[6] and a follow-up, Brasseur & Eisler: The Professional Years.

In 1994, she and Eisler were awarded the Meritorious Service Decoration (civil division). In 1996, she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.[7] The Colisée de St-Jean in her hometown of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec was renamed Colisée Isabelle-Brasseur in her honour.

In 2009, Brasseur competed with Glenn Anderson on Battle of the Blades, a CBC production. She was eliminated during the second round of the competition. In 2010, she competed on the second season of Battle of the Blades, with partner Todd Warriner. She reached the final three and was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Results

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With Eisler

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International
Event 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94
Olympics 9th 3rd 3rd
Worlds 7th 7th 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd
Nations Cup 1st
NHK Trophy 4th 2nd 4th 1st
Skate Canada 1st 1st
Trophée de France 2nd
Piruetten 2nd
National
Canadians 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st

With Courchesne

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International
Event 1984–85 1985–86
Skate America 5th
International: Junior
World Junior Championships 6th 7th

References

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  1. ^ "Isabelle Brasseur". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010.
  2. ^ "Gabriella MARVALDI / Cody DOLKIEWICZ". International Skating Union.
  3. ^ Clarke, Katrina (November 4, 2015). "Taking symptoms of cardiovascular illness to heart". Hamilton Spectator.
  4. ^ Nagy, Julia (December 13, 2011). "Marvaldi and Hogeboom find mirth in victory". Ice Network. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
  6. ^ Brasseur & Eisler (1996). Brasseur & Eisler: To Catch a Dream. Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7715-7393-6.
  7. ^ "Skate Canada Hall of Fame". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on June 17, 2004.