Charron Maude G

Maude Charron was born on April 28th 1993 and she’s a prominent Canadian weightlifter. She made history by winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and became only the second Canadian to achieve this in weightlifting, after Christine Girard in 2012. She also got gold medals at the 2018 World University Weightlifting Championships and at the Commonwealth Games and Canadian records. As of 2024, she’s set to co-captain Canada as the flag bearer at the Olympic Summer Games in Paris, alongside sprinter Andre De Grasse. 

Her athletic journey started with gymnastics and circus performing. As a child, she was very involved in gymnastics and she played the oboe in her high school band. She first became interested in weightlifting when she was 7, but she was encouraged to stick to gymnastics because of her height. 

After high school, she pursued circus arts at the École de cirque de Québec but she faced multiple injuries that led her to change paths. At 19, Charron discovered Functional Fitness and did excellent at weightlifting. Her coach, Serge  Chrétien, saw her potential and pushed her to compete. By 2015, it was obvious she was going to be successful. She won gold at the 2016 Canadian Weightlifting Championships and she continued her success in 2018 with wins at the Commonwealth Games and World University Games, setting records along the way – 122 kg in the clean and jerk and 220 kg in the total lift in the 63 kg weight class. At the World University Weightlifting Championships in Biała Podlaska, Poland, she also set a new record with a total lift of 226 kg in the same weight class.

Despite a tough 2019 season and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she didn’t give up. She set up a home gym in her father’s garage and trained hard, which paid off with an Olympic gold medal. She went on to defend her Commonwealth Games title in 2022 and won bronze in the 59 kg class at the World Championships. 

Off the platform, she’s studying business management and hopes to become a police officer. She also likes reading, puzzles, and mountain biking. Apart from being known because of her success, she’s also famous for her quirky pre-event ritual where she drinks coffee and maple syrup. 

Another one of her hobbies is collecting flags from her competition travels.