At only two years of age, and after watching Nadia Comăneci win three gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Annie Pelletier decided that she was going to attend the Olympic Games as a gymnast. By the time she was 13, however, she had suffered so many injuries that she decided to change sports and took up diving. She joined CAMO Natation in Montreal and, in 1991, made the Canadian national team. Her first major international medal came at the 1993 Universiade, where she won silver in the 1m springboard. She added Commonwealth Games titles in the 1m and 3m events in 1994, bronze at that year’s World Championships, and gold in the 3m and silver in the 1m at the 1995 Pan American Games. She was selected, along with Eryn Bulmer, to represent Canada in the springboard event at the 1996 Summer Olympics, but barely survived to the semi-finals, placing 17th among 18 qualifiers. She scraped by again in the next round, this time as the last of the 12 qualifiers. After a series of amazing dives, however, she claimed a podium spot and took home a bronze medal. Several times Canadian champion in the 1m and the 3m, she retired soon after the Games and has worked as a television commentator and community activist in Quebec. She is a member of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.
Canada