SINGAPORE - The local aquatics fraternity paid tribute to Julie Sauve on Wednesday (April 8), after the former Singapore artistic swimming consultant coach died the day before at the age of 67.
Sauve helped produce an Olympic champion during her time as the Canadian national coach, before coaching Singapore's national team in 2017.
Under her guidance, the Republic's artistic swimming team became a force in the region, winning three golds, two silvers and two bronzes at the 2017 SEA Games.
She also guided the team at the 2017 and 2019 Fina world championships and the 2018 Asian Games.
Singapore Swimming Association's (SSA) vice-president of artistic swimming, Steve Chew, said: "Artistic swimming was her life and her desire was to spread and grow the sport throughout the entire world.
"Every time Julie spoke, everyone would listen. She was such an inspirational coach, not only to the Canadian team but all the swimmers, officials she had coached and worked with worldwide."
Most recently, Sauve was the consultant coach to Debbie Soh and Miya Yong in a bid to help Singapore's duet pair qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
However, on April 1, she returned to Canada following the postponement of the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic. The details of her death remain unknown.
No Singaporean has ever competed in artistic swimming at the Olympics.
"Julie had so much faith in us even when we didn't, and made the impossible seem possible to us," said Soh of her "second mother".
"Whenever we had doubts, she would show us reasons why we should be believing in ourselves more. She dared us to dream bigger than what we initially thought we were capable of.
"I'm thankful to have had her in my life, and that I got to spend time with her right before she returned to Canada."
Yong admitted Sauve will be missed very much.
"She was really the most understanding and caring coach I've had," she said. "The most important belief she held was that athletes always came first...
"She really changed me as a swimmer and helped me to get this far. I won't forget the four years under her."
Yong and Soh were part of the free routine gold medal-winning team at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, where they won gold in the duet technical routine and a silver for the duet free routine. Soh also won the solo free routine and clinched a silver in the solo technical routine, with Yong winning bronze in both those events.
SSA executive director, Edwin Ker, hopes to dedicate future results to Sauve.
"When the opportunity comes, in our next overseas competition, may we do our best to deliver Julie's final performance to the world," he said.
Sauve's greatest achievement as a coach was in leading Sylvie Frechette to the Olympic gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
According to Canadian daily Le Journal de Montreal, Sauve's proteges collectively won more than 100 medals in international competitions.
Frechette wrote of her coach of 18 years on Facebook: "To my second mother, my guide, the one who saw me and believed in me, the one who took me by the hand to the highest peak: I love you, Julie Sauve."
Sauve coached the Canadian national team for 37 years. She was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the Canadian Olympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2012.
