Marie-France Dubreuil was born on August 11, 1974, in Montreal, Quebec.[1] She married her Canadian partner and skater Patrice Lauzon in August 2008.[2] On December 24, 2010, she gave birth to their daughter, Billie-Rose.[3]
Competitive career
When Dubreuil was five, she asked for skating lessons for her birthday and her grandmother gave her skates as a present.[4][5] She took up ice dancing at the age of ten.[5] The pair of Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov was one of her influences.[6] Competing with Bruno Yvars, she won the bronze medal at 1990 World Junior Championships.[5]
Dubreuil teamed up with Patrice Lauzon in 1995 and they placed 6th at their first Canadian Championships. They took the silver medal in their first appearance at Four Continents in 2000. Their coaches were Sylvie Fullum and François Vallee, who retired after the 2001–02 season. Dubreuil/Lauzon decided to move permanently to Lyon, France, to train under Muriel Boucher-Zazoui.[7]
Dubreuil/Lauzon captured the gold medal at the Canadian National Championships five times and competed at the Winter Olympics twice. They had to withdraw from the 2006 Winter Olympics after Dubreuil suffered an injury from a fall during a lift attempt at the end of a program. Lauzon had to carry her off the ice.[8] They recovered to win the silver medal at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Alberta.
Dubreuil/Lauzon skated in ice shows in the 2007–08 season. They confirmed their retirement from competitive skating on May 20, 2008.[9]
Dubreuil appeared on the CBC Television series Battle of the Blades, in which figure skaters are paired with ice hockey players in a figure skating competition. She and her season 1 partner Stéphane Richer finished in third place. She took season 2 off because she was pregnant. During the show's third season, she was paired with Bryan Berard.[10]
Post-competitive career
Dubreuil and Lauzon coach and choreograph ice dancing at the Gadbois Centre in Montreal with Romain Haguenauer.[11] Their current students include:
Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron[12] (2022 Olympic gold medalists, 2018 Olympic silver medalists, Five-time European champions, Five-time World Champions, Three-time French National Champions)
Madison Chock / Evan Bates[14] (Olympic gold medalists (team event), Two-Time World Champions, Three-time Four Continents Champions, Four-time U.S. National Champions)
Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir[30] (Three-time Olympic gold medalists, Two-time Olympic silver medalists, Three-time World Champions, Grand Prix Final Champions, Three-time Four Continents Champions, World Junior Champions, Junior Grand Prix Final Champions, Eight-time Canadian National Champions, Only ice dancers to achieve career grand slam)