Day 16I couldn't help shake my head when the Canadian Olympic Committee brazingly predicted a top-three finish and a minimum 25 medals at Turin. Like many, I too thought this expectation was to high and raised unrealistic expectations.
"The 2006 Olympic Winter Games have been a great success for Canada," COC president Mike Chambers said Sunday. "We set an aggressive goal of a top-three finish at these Games and we will leave Turin having achieved that goal."
Canada won 24 medals – seven gold, 10 silver, seven bronze – to shatter the previous record of 17 set at Salt Lake City in 2002. Only Germany (29) and the United States (25) had more in Turin, but 11 Canadians posted fourth-place finishes with seven others coming fifth.
For the first time in a long time, Americans feel Canadians breathing down their necks. A Sunday headline on the ABC News website noted: "Canada is emerging as an Olympic powerhouse."
"All of Canada's athletes turned in an exceptional performance at these Games and they've made all Canadians proud," Chambers said.
Canada would have reached its goal of 25 medals had:
* Short-track speed skater Eric Bedard not been denied by 4-1,000ths of a second in the men's 500.
* Skier Kelly VanderBeek not finished 3-100ths behind the bronze medallist in the women's super-G.
* Francois Bourque not missed the podium by 76-100ths in the men's giant slalom.
* Pierre Lueders not lost out on a medal by 9-100ths of a second in four-man bobsleigh.
*The biggest disappointment was the Canada's men's hockey who failed even to make it into the medal round.
A blink of an eye and who knows what could have been. Truth be told, Canadian's should be proud of the accomplishments of their athletes that represented them in Turin.
"The new program of the Canadian Olympic Committee 'Own the Podium,' which is supported on one hand by the government, but on the other hand the corporate world, has yielded already unbelievable results," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.
Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen achieved unprecedented results, capturing five medals to give her six overall, both Canadian records. It also marked the highest total by a female speed skater, surpassing the four gold medals won by Lidiya Skoblikova of Russia at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games.
Klassen is all class. Eighteen years ago, Canada held high hopes heading into Calgary, only to suffer the indignity of failing to win a single gold medal – a rarity for a host nation. But a shift in attitude and focus by the COC, namely a commitment to win medals, and the inclusion of extreme sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboard in the Olympics, is reaping positive results.
Fast forward ahead to 2006, not only did we achieve our goal of a top-three finish, but we also increased our medal total and had a significant number of top-eight finishes by athletes who have their best years ahead of them. This bodes well for Vancouver 2010. The Vancouver Olympics will be the first in Canada since 1988, when Calgary hosted the Winter Games.
To answer the question, simply and then some. Oh, and last but least congradulations to Mat Sundin and the Swedish Men's hockey team on their gold medal win. Now hopefully Mat can crest the wave of emotion all the way back to Toronto and ride the Leafs into the playoffs.
Later,
Kenaz
