Gold at Last

Sandra Knox is a professor at the School of Human Movement, Laurentian
University.

In mid-1992, the Canadian media began to speculate about Canada’s
chances for gold at the Barcelona Olympics. Canada’s synchronized
swimming team, particularly Sylvie Fréchette, inevitably drew their
attention. Then Sylvie lost two people who were very close to her: her
grandfather and—just before she was to leave for the Games—her
fiancé. How could she possibly go on? But go on she did, performing
flawlessly—only to be robbed of the gold because of a scoring error by
the Brazilian judge. In Gold at Last, we learn what really happened to
Sylvie Fréchette before and during the Barcelona Olympics. We also
learn about her passion for the sport of synchronized swimming, her
struggle to overcome severe shyness, and her grueling training regime.
Finally, we learn about the bitter disappointments and exhilarating
triumphs experienced by this athlete of exceptional talent, dedication,
and determination.