Olympic Champions

Residence: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Birth Date:

Jamie: April 21, 1977

David: November 22, 1974

Birth Place:

Jamie: Calgary, Alberta

David: Sayabec, Quebec

Competitive Highlights

2003 World Team Challenge - Pairs 1st
2002 Winter Olympics - 1st
2002 Canadian Championships - 1st
2002 Grand Prix Final - 1st
2002 Sears Open Figure Skating Championships- 1st
2002 Hallmark Challenge Skaters' Competition- 1st
2001 Four Continents Championships - 1st
2001 Grand Prix Final - 1st
2001 World Championships – 1st
2001 Skate Canada - 1st
2001 Skate America - 1st
2001 Canadian Championships – 1st
2000 Canadian Open - 1^st
2000 Lalique Trophy - 2nd
2000 World Championships - 4th
2000 Four Continents Championships - 1st
2000 Canadian Championships -1st
2000 Skate Canada - 1st
2000 Skate America - 1st
2000 Grand Prix Final - 5th
1999 Nations Cup - 2nd
1999 Skate America - 1st
1999 Canadian Championships - 2nd
1998 Nations Cup - 3rd
1998 Masters of Figure Skating - 4th
1998 Skate Canada - 3rd

In February 2002, Canadian pair skaters Jamie Salé (pronounced SA-lay) and David Pelletier (pronounced PELL-tee-ay) emerged from an unprecedented Olympic controversy in Salt Lake City with gold medals and the hearts of millions of fans around the world for the incredible grace and dignity they had demonstrated both on and off the ice. For Jamie and David, it was the culmination of a lifelong dream.

Salé was three years old when she first tried skating on a rink near her house. She wore double-bladed skates to help her balance. By age five, her mother had enrolled her in both figure skating and gymnastics classes, but by age seven, Salé had decided to focus on skating.

For Pelletier, the choice was between figure skating and hockey. Like Jamie, David had learned to skate at an early age, as did his two brothers. At age 15, believing he may not make Canada's hockey elite, David focused on figure skating. It was somewhat of an uphill battle, in small-town Quebec, where most boys his age were handling the stick and puck. Fortunately, for the rest of the world, he persevered.  

Salé made her Olympic debut at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, placing 12th with Jason Turner at the age of 16. That spring, she and Turner placed 16th at the World Championships in Chiba, Japan. That summer, they decided to go their separate ways and Salé pursued a singles career. Her best solo effort was fifth place at the 1995 Canadian Nationals in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

During this transitional period, Jamie went to Montreal to meet with David who in turn came to Edmonton to meet with Jamie. On those occasions, they became better and better acquainted as they discussed the possibilities of their future together as Pairs.

Salé and Pelletier's partnership then became an official reality, on March 10, 1998, and the duo was faced with many challenges under new coach Richard Gauthier. Injury struck and the pair missed two and a half months of training after Salé underwent surgery to repair her Achilles tendon. In 1999, Pelletier hurt his lower back just before the Canadian Nationals. The ongoing spasms forced the couple to withdraw from both the 1999 Four Continents and the 1999 Worlds. Taking into account the time lost to injuries, the pair had been skating together for only a year when they came back to win the 1999 Skate America.

In 2000, Jamie and David won their first of three Canadian Championships, and became the first pairs team ever to receive five perfect "6.0" scores in the competition. After finishing fourth in the 2000 World Championships, they were determined to bring home a medal in the 2001 Worlds, but to do so; the couple would once again have to overcome adversity. In the weeks leading up to the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver, Pelletier's car was stolen and his house was damaged in a fire, leaving him temporarily homeless. Salé burned her hand with coffee, leaving her unable to practice for a number of days. She also lost a lucky necklace that her former choreographer had given her.

On the Vancouver ice, however, in 2001 the pair created their own good fortune, and was in third place after the short program. As was the case at the 2000 Worlds, Salé and Pelletier were in an excellent position to win a medal entering the free skate, and this time they brought home the gold.

In December 2001, Jamie and David became co-recipients of the Lou Marsh Trophy, awarded annually by the Toronto Star to Canada's outstanding athlete. They were also named Canada's 2001 "Team of the Year" in a poll of sports editors and broadcasters conducted by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News. In November 2002, Jamie and David were inducted into the Edmonton Royal Glenora Hall of Fame. In 2001 and again in 2002 they were recipients of the Sport Partners of the Year for Quebec. They were selected by the Globe & Mail as the second most influential athletes in Canada for 2002, after Wayne Gretzky. At the 30th Annual Canadian Sport Awards event, they were named the Canadian Sport Partners of the Year for 2002; and, during the same year, were awarded the Golden Jubilee Award, for demonstrating exceptional qualities and outstanding service to Canada, approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

On September 22, 2003, Jamie and David were appointed Honorary Life Members of West End Rotary of Edmonton. That same day, the Rotary Club awarded them the International Paul Harris Fellowship in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understand and friendly relations among the people of the world. In August of 2003, Jamie was voted in a Reader’s Digest national survey, as the number one choice as Canada’s best representative of true beauty. In the Year 2002, 2003 and again in 2004 Jamie was voted in the top 100 sexiest women of the world by FHM magazine.

As a reflection of their talent and success, Jamie and David were inducted to the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jamie and David were also proud to be featured in the Cheerios "Read-The-Box" Program, which celebrated authors, publishers and Canadian Olympic hopefuls together at the breakfast table. In the months leading up to the Olympics, images of the pair appeared on the front and back of special edition Cheerios boxes throughout Canada, along with a bio written by Canadian children's author, J. C. Mills. Other sponsors and endorsements include Rogers AT & T Wireless, Driving Force, CCM (The Hockey Company), and Quikcard.

Since their Olympic victory, Jamie and David have appeared on the Today Show, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and on February 25, 2002, simultaneously graced the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines.

On October 8, 2003, Jamie and David were appointed the Honorary Chairs for the City of Edmonton’s 100th Anniversary Celebration that took place on October 8, 2004. The pair was most recently appointed as Honorary Ambassadors for the Province of Alberta's 100th Anniversary for 2005.

The pair was married on December 30, 2005 in Canada.

On September 30, 2007, Jamie and David welcomed their first child, a son named Jesse, born at the Sturgeon Community Hospital and Health Centre in St. Albert, Alberta.  Jesse arrived weighing seven pounds and measuring 19 inches. “Jamie and I are beyond thrilled and we’re very excited about experiencing the many expected joys of parenthood,” said Pelletier.  "Jamie was terrific through the labor and delivery and we were able to go home the very next day.  We would like to thank family, friends and fans for the many well wishes we have already received.”

Jamie and David will return to the ice in December for Holiday Festival on Ice shows in Kelowna and Cranbrook, British Columbia and again in the spring for 20 shows on this year’s Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour in the U.S. and all 12 shows of Canada’s Stars on Ice Tour taking place April 17-May 7.