Recent medical school graduate and 2010 Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette, seen here on May 28, 2015, says she will be working at Quebec's long-term care homes hit hard by COVID-19.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Former Canadian figure skater and Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette will be working at Quebec’s long-term care homes hit hard by COVID-19.
Rochette, who competed for Canada at the Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games — winning an individual bronze at the latter — received her medical degree Friday from McGill University and said she’d be deploying soon.
Rochette, 34, had discussed the end of her studies with The Canadian Press in mid-February, on the 10th anniversary of the Vancouver Olympics.
In response to a message of thanks from Quebec Premier François Legault, Rochette wrote on her Twitter account Sunday it was only natural to respond to the Premier’s frequent call for help at short-staffed nursing homes.
“I’m just one of hundreds of graduates to get into the action,” Rochette wrote, adding she’d be one of thousands already committed to the COVID-19 fight.
On Saturday, Rochette told the French-language all-sports network RDS that while she’s perhaps a little fearful for her health, she’s more afraid about the lack of staff at long-term care homes.
Rochette, of Île-Dupas, Que., inspired the entire country when she won a medal in Vancouver after her mother, Therese, 55, died of a heart attack just two days before the start of the competition.