Antoine Valois-Fortier, Canada’s top-ranked judoka, is one to watch in Rio Games
Antoine Valois-Fortier will be representing Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Judo. According to Judo Canada:
“Judo is practiced by more than 100 million people in more than 200 countries worldwide … Judo has a wide range of appeal as a sport, an art, a discipline, a recreational pastime, a social activity, a fitness program, a means of self-defense, and a way of life… The Japanese word “Judo” literally means the “gentle way””.
Judo requires balance, coordination, agility, and strategy.
This will be Antoine’s second Olympic Games. He won a bronze medal in London 2012 and is currently ranked number 3 in the world in his weight class. Get to know more about Antoine and cheer him on with your kids (you can also watch Antoine in a recorded Active for Life Google Hangout).
When did you first realize you loved your sport? How did you know?
At a very young age. I had the opportunity to practice many sports and being a kid with lots of energy (maybe too much!), the rush of practicing sports was unlike anything else.
What is one way, outside of sport, that being physically literate has helped you?
When I started my bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at UQAM I realized how much my experience in sport could help me be better in school and at related jobs.
When you aren’t participating in your sport, what is your favourite way to be active?
I like to practice other sports in a less competitive mindset with friends in order to relax and have fun
Tell us one thing you remember your parents doing that encouraged you or helped you to keep active.
They would include me and create a very fun environment around activity that involved being active. They would also encourage and support my active choices in the early stages.
What’s the most important thing you can share with the kids who look up to you?
I would like them to see their objectives as a marathon and not a sprint. I mean by that to do the little things that count every day over a long period of time rather than doing it all in a rush and with less attention.
