Girard was the first Canadian female to win a medal in weightlifting when she won gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

[9] Girard said that winning the Olympic medal was one of her top two best moments in life, "It is very hard to describe how I feel.

[12] After a reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August 2016, the IWF reported that silver medallist Irina Nekrassova had used a prohibited substance.

[13] This was confirmed in 2018 and Girard was awarded a bronze medal, preceding her previous standing of first female Canadian weightlifting medallist to 2008.

[14] Girard received both the Beijing bronze and London gold medals at a ceremony in Ottawa on December 3, 2018.

[17] In February 2023, Girard was named Chef de Mission for Team Canada at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile.

[18] Girard began coaching other athletes in weightlifting after her move to BC while she was preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

[2] She then moved to White Rock, British Columbia in January 2010, before returning to Quebec in 2018, this time settling in the city of Gatineau in Canada's National Capital Region.

[2] In 2021, Girard received her Masters of Health Sciences Degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Ottawa.