Dominique Maltais, a French-Canadian, was skiing at the age of five, but did not begin snowboarding until she was eleven years old. Although her first run down a hill was a disaster, her determination to triumph in the sport led to her conquering every competition in the Quebec City area within a year. She won the Canadian Snowboarding Championships in 2003 and 2004 and had obtained several podium finishes in World Cup Championships by the end of 2005. Despite falling in the Snowboard Cross event at the 2006 Winter Olympics, she managed to recover and obtain a bronze medal after another member of the final four, fellow Canadian Maëlle Ricker, crashed and was sent to the hospital with a minor concussion. Four years later Maltais competed in the Games on her home soil, but failed to reach the finals in the boardercross event, a competition that was eventually won by Maëlle Ricker.
Canada