Alain LaRoche

{{Short description|Canadian freestyle skier}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox skier  | name = Alain LaRoche | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | nationality = {{CAN}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|09|20|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | height =  | spouse =  | seasons = 8 | wins = 21 | teamwins = | totalpodiums = 53 | teampodiums = | individual_starts = 199 | team_starts = | wcoveralls = | wctitles = 1 | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Freestyle skiing}} {{Medal|Competition|World Ski Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|1986 Tignes|Combined}} | show-medals = | updated = }} '''Alain LaRoche''' (born 2 September 1963) is a retired Canadian freestyle skier who competed from 1982 to 1990.<ref name="CSHOF">{{cite web|url=http://skimuseum.ca/bios/LaRoche_Alain.pdf|title=Alain LaRoche - Canadian Ski Hall of Fame|publisher=Canadian Ski Museum|accessdate=27 March 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327131213/http://skimuseum.ca/bios/LaRoche_Alain.pdf|archivedate=27 March 2021}}</ref> LaRoche competed in aerials, moguls, ski ballet, and combined.<ref name="COC">{{cite web|url=https://olympic.ca/canadian-olympic-hall-of-fame/alain-laroche/#:~:text=From%20the%20famous%20skiing%20Laroche,Lucie%20Laroche%20(Calgary%201988).|title=Alain Laroche - Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee|accessdate=27 March 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118040344/https://olympic.ca/canadian-olympic-hall-of-fame/alain-laroche/#:~:text=From%2520the%2520famous%2520skiing%2520Laroche,Lucie%2520Laroche%2520(Calgary%25201988).|archivedate=18 January 2021}}</ref> At the inaugural Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986 at Tignes, France, LaRoche took gold in the combined event.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/winnipeg-free-press-feb-07-1986-p-64/|title=Rangers trade Patrick to Nords|date=7 February 1986|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=64|accessdate=27 March 2021}}</ref> Across eight World Cup seasons, LaRoche amassed 21 first-place finishes, a mark that was eclipsed by Mikael Kingsbury in 2015.<ref name="COC" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/skiing/mikael-kingsbury-wins-gold-in-world-cup-moguls-1.2889105|title=Mikael Kingsbury wins gold in World Cup moguls|date=3 January 2015|work=CBC News|accessdate=27 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327140329/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/skiing/mikael-kingsbury-wins-gold-in-world-cup-moguls-1.2889105|archive-date=27 March 2021}}</ref>

With his brothers Yves, and Philippe, LaRoche along with Lloyd Langlois, Jean-Marc Rozon, and Nicolas Fontaine were a group of Quebec freestylers who excelled in the sport and collectively were known as the Quebec Air Force.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/freestyleskiing/quebec-love-affair-freestyle-1.3944253|title=Road to the Olympic Games: Quebec's love affair with freestyle skiing|last=Russell|first=Scott|date=20 January 2017|work=CBC Sports|accessdate=27 March 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227082728/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/freestyleskiing/quebec-love-affair-freestyle-1.3944253|archivedate=27 February 2021}}</ref> Another brother, Dominique also competed in freestyle, and sister Lucie was an alpine ski racer.<ref name="COC" />

LaRoche has been inducted into Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1987), and the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame (1999).<ref name="COC" />

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== External links == *{{FIS|S=FS|ID=33993}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaRoche, Alain}} Category:Canadian male freestyle skiers Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen