Quebec Olympians welcomed home after a games like no other in Japan

Olympian Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard is back on her home turf after delivering a historic performance last month inside Tokyo's Budokan arena, the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts.

The 27-year-old Montreal native defeated Venezuela's Anriquelis Barrios to capture a bronze medal in the women's-under-63 kg judo category.

"I'm really happy for my father. He was really expecting me to come back with a medal," she said, noting there were tears of joy upon her return.

Now she wants to inspire young women to take up sports, do judo and "be confident."

She was welcomed home Thursday during a ceremony in Laval, Que., alongside Jennifer Abel and Laurence Vincent Lapointe. 

In an effort to keep the event safe during the pandemic, it was held as a parking lot drive-in with spectators viewing the stage from their cars or from chairs near their vehicles.

Beauchemin-Pinard said there were strict protocols to follow in Japan as well, but she was so used to living life under public health restrictions in Quebec, that it wasn't too hard to adjust.

With all the COVID-19 safety protocols in place in Japan, it may not have been what she expected of the summer Olympics, but she was so used to living life under public health restrictions in Quebec that it wasn't too hard to adjust, she said. 

Silver in synchronized diving for Laval native

Paired up with Quebecer Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu for their first Olympic games together, 29-year-old Abel won a silver medal in women's three-metre synchronized diving.

Though she was born in Montreal, she now lives in Laval and, she said, "it feels great" to be celebrating in her hometown.

"For me it's important to be a role model for the younger ones," she said.

"I think it's very important for all the youth to be healthy, to be active also. If I can be a model for one young person, for me, it's very important."

Abel said winning the silver was a fantastic feeling after so much work and more than a year living under the stress of a pandemic.

Now she's looking forward to spending time with her fiance, professional boxer David Lemieux, and "enjoying the moment," she said.

The pair got engaged shortly after Abel returned home from the Olympics. 

Vincent Lapointe brings home two medals

Vincent Lapointe, a 29-year-old canoeist from Trois-Rivières, Que., brought home a bronze and silver medal. 

She finished second in the canoe sprint women's C-1 200 metres. She took third in the women's canoe double 500-metre final alongside Ontario's Katie Vincent.

"It was different to race with COVID [restrictions] and everything, but it was much more calm than I expected," said Vincent Lapointe, who had always been told the Olympics were loud and distracting.

She was able to focus on her performance, she said, and then on her return, she found herself giving a talk to people sitting in parked cars.

It's odd to have an audience in a parking lot, she said, but "it's just fun to know people are here even with all that happening. They are trying to be here and finding ways to be here."