In a few years, perhaps the Rouge et Or athletes from Laval University will be able to believe that the name of their team was inspired by Jessy Lacourse, because the athlete-student par excellence of the Quebec school network has the red in the heart and gold in the neck.
Jessy Lacourse broke no less than three provincial records this season. 5000m, 1000m indoors and 1500m indoors.
The mark of which she is most proud nevertheless remains her time of 9:40 in the steeplechase, established in May 2021, in New York. “By far my best race in life”, recalls the 26-year-old runner with nostalgia.
Besides, she accurately remembers all her times. Frighteningly, she remembers with a disconcerting attention to detail the times of her good and bad races since her beginnings in high school. In cross-country, triathlon, athletics and steeplechase.
Lacourse stands out for its versatility. She is skilful and talented in multiple events, on different surfaces and in different settings.
She may be tiny, but she’s still the tallest.
The master’s student in psychopedagogy and orthopedagogy came to sit at a table on the Main Promenade at Laval University’s PEPS, just after training. In this space supported by imposing wooden beams and bordered by huge windows overlooking the pool, Lacourse settled down proudly wearing a gray jersey from the last Canadian Championships.
Precisely, the interview took place just below the banner of national champions of the cross-country team, of which she was a part in 2022, hung at the end of the catwalk.
“She’s pretty pretty, isn’t she?! exclaimed Lacourse when pointed out to him.
To finish beautifully
Lacourse looks at the banner with emotion, because it is a tangible mark of his time at Université Laval. An adventure soon to come to an end. “It makes me a little nostalgic. In a few weeks, she will leave the Rouge et Or to practice her sport professionally.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JESSY LACOURSE
Jessy Lacourse
It will always be my home. When you are Red and Gold, you are for life.
Jessy Lacourse
Lacourse was born in Quebec, on chemin Sainte-Foy. “I was meant to come here. However, she spent half her life in Victoriaville. Impossible for her to determine where she comes from, so much the two cities have occupied an equivalent place in her career.
However, we can safely say that it sowed its seeds in Victoriaville and reaped the fruits in Quebec.
Jacques Hince, a high school physical education teacher in Victoriaville, recruited her. “Oh my god, launches Lacourse. He is someone important to me. I still talk to him every week. »
Every spring Hince held cross country races for fifth and sixth graders. Lacourse won the first time and was second the second. “Jacques came to see me to ask me if I wanted to join the cross-country club. »
His beginnings in high school, however, were less easy. “I was not very good. I didn’t even qualify for the provincials. I didn’t know how to run a race,” she admits.
Things have changed a lot, because by dint of overtaking and relentlessness, Lacourse has shown itself to be more efficient than its rivals. Like a gifted, she even competed at 16 with athletes up to six years older. A few years later, everyone knows his name on the Université Laval campus.
“It’s just because my name is catchy,” she jokes.
In truth, Lacourse not only marked the history of the Rouge et Or, but also that of Quebec athletics. You have to slide your index finger many times on the mouse wheel to reach the end of the list of all the honors she has received in recent years. She is the face of her sport and the heart of her program.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JESSY LACOURSE
Jessy Lacourse
I’m not doing this for recognition or for everyone to know me. I run because I have fun, I fulfill myself and because I want to be proud of myself.
Jessy Lacourse
She gave a lot of visibility to the Rouge et Or. In return, the Rouge et Or allowed her to realize her childhood dream. “Since I was in high school, I know that I will come to Quebec. I received offers from elsewhere and I didn’t even look at them. It was clear, clear and precise that I was going to come to Laval University. »
Now she dreams of the Olympics. “For Paris 2024, I will work hard. »
She also wants to pass on her passion for a job well done and her desire to persevere no matter what to the youngest. This is why she obtained a bachelor’s degree in preschool education and primary education. That’s why she’s pursuing a master’s degree in education.
“I have always liked school. I couldn’t see myself leaving school. I’ve loved it since I was little. I was playing at school. I think I have my place in teaching,” she says.
When Jacques Hince met Lacourse, one thing struck him about his student. “He said that I was very ordinary, but that I had to want to. »
Over time, Lacourse transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary and the will into success.