gold greater than

Winning An

Olympic gold medal. It is beyond what most of us could ever imagine achieving. A feat most of us would define as our proudest moment.

But for the Lamoureux twins, Jocelyne and Monique … it’s not.

Don’t get the ladies wrong, "Monique and I are so proud to win a gold medal,” says Jocelyne. But their proudest moment would change many more lives than just their own.

Their story began in the frozen tundra of North Dakota. Beyond the winters and plentiful ice it provided for practice, the budding hockey stars found many more advantages to calling the Midwest home. “We were able to be in so many different activities, which really helped us as athletes,” Monique points out. She explains that in larger cities, youth typically focus on one sport due to population size and time it takes to navigate rush hour traffic. But in North Dakota, Jocelyne proudly shares, they could do it all, “Dance, swimming, soccer, cross country — whatever season, that was the sport we played.”

But beyond the external, growing up in the Midwest developed something even greater internally. The very spirit of the region of the country — hard work and determination — was instilled in the women. And it was from the very moment they first hit the ice. “We would go to different tournaments growing up and in women’s hockey no one came out of North Dakota,” Jocelyne remembers. “We didn’t [even] have girls’ teams growing up so we played hockey with the boys.” They were not going to be cut any slack, “We grew up with a mentality that we were going to be given the same opportunity.” Little did they realize how much this would prepare them for the purpose and mission they find themselves called to serve to this day.

2017, a year prior to their third Olympics and hope at finally attaining gold, the sisters risked it all. Jocelyne and Monique were playing for USA Hockey. But as Jocelyne points out, that was far from the only thing they were doing. “I was working 40 hours a week in addition to competing as a pro athlete,” she says. There was not a lot of outside support to play. I got sick a lot [that year] and I remember looking over at Monique and being like, 'It shouldn’t be this hard to continue to play.’” They saw many of their male equivalents able to earn a decent living as they focused solely on the game. The memory of equal opportunity during their younger years in the rink, playing just as hard alongside those same peers, weighed heavy on their minds.

That’s when they took the bold step of pursuing equality for women in hockey. This included a livable wage, flying business class, and disability insurance. Essentially, to be given the same treatment and opportunity as their male counterparts; the very principle that had just been the norm growing up.

So they laid it all on the line. They boycotted the national championships for two weeks. It was hard. It was uncertain. But it was life changing. They realized the power in numbers, as women, as public figures, and members of the men’s hockey team even banded together to support them. And it worked.

Such a victory changed their lives and the future of women’s hockey forever. But it hasn’t ended there. The sisters began traveling, non-stop, after the 2018 Winter Olympics — and have been for months — spreading their message of equality and value. But that value isn’t just demanded as Jocelyne points out. "Know your value, but take initiative to earn your value,” she says. This is what they hope to impress upon women. And how to have those tough conversations; how women may go about voicing their concerns and expectations is exactly what the twins intend to share at their upcoming TEDx Talk in July. “We are going to speak to what we’ve gone through and share the advice we’ve been given and give it to others,” Monique shares.

So what is the two incredible women’s proudest moment? Jocelyne smiles, “We are so proud to win a gold medal, but our most proud moment is standing up for what is right. [That] will be our most proud moment."