Ariane Beaumont-Courteau Article (Canada)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montreal ... d1d12722b1

R.D.P. teen has pedigree in pole vault
With guidance from accomplished parents, Beaumont-Courteau, 15, sets sights on Games after soaring to midget mark

ARPON BASU
Freelance

June 22, 2005


CREDIT: DAVE SIDAWAY, THE GAZETTE
"Like a lot of people, I dream of going to the Olympics," pole-vaulter Ariane Beaumont-Courteau says.



The list of things a 5-year-old can do at the family's new summer cottage is limitless.

Getting wet at every possible opportunity has to rank pretty high on that list, but something near the bottom caught a young Ariane Beaumont-Courteau's eye: pole vaulting.

Of course, the obscure cottage activity became tempting when her father, an avid pole vaulter himself, built a 15-metre runway out of wood planks, dug a pit, installed a plant box and a crash mattress in the backyard.

"My dad used to show us how to do it, just for fun," Beaumont-Courteau recalled. "I wound up really liking it."

Her dad, Ambroise Courteau, began pole vaulting in 1970 and hasn't stopped since, winning a bronze medal in the 45-and-over category at the 2003 World Masters Athletics Championships. He also had been coaching since he stopped serious competition. So when his first son, Maxime, and later Ariane were born, Courteau couldn't help but expose them to the sport.

"When the kids arrived," Courteau said, "it was only natural that I at least show them how to do it, and then they could decide themselves if they liked it."

Beaumont-Courteau began competing when she was 9, and provincial records began to fall soon after. But two weekends ago, almost 10 years after she first picked up a pole, the Riviere des Praires native made her first imprint on the national track-and-field scene by matching the Canadian midget record of 3.55 metres.

"When I was getting ready to jump, I didn't even know I was going for a national record," said Beaumont-Courteau, 15, who also is an accomplished hurdler and long jumper. "I knew I'd beat the provincial record (which she already held), but after I cleared it and they told me about the national record, I was really happy."

She became that much happier last weekend when she broke the record with a jump of 3.65 metres at the Ian Hume Classic in Sherbrooke.

Beaumont-Courteau's athletic success is a direct result of her pedigree. Besides her father, her mother, Louise Beaumont, was a member of the Canadian handball team that competed at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

"There's probably some of it that's hereditary," Courteau said.

Beaumont-Courteau's career looks like it's about to take off. Last summer at the Royal Canadian Legion championships in Sudbury, Ont., she won a silver in the juvenile pole vault despite being in her first year of midget. This summer, she will attend her first Canadian junior championships in Edmonton.

She has high hopes for her future career, but for now she needs to focus on the new challenges she is about to face.

"Like a lot of people, I dream of going to the Olympics," she said. "I'm starting to enter a lot of bigger competitions now, so I want to concentrate on those."

The Amateur Athlete of the Week is featured Wednesdays on Global News at 6 p.m. and also on our Web site: montrealgazette.com

5

Age Beaumont-Courteau began pole vaulting.

9

Age she began competing in pole vault.

15

Her age now as holder of Canadian midget record.

3.65

Metres she cleared to set Canadian record.

1976

Year her mother played handball at the Olympics.