A lot is being made of Canada’s approach to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Canada’s “Own the Podium” (OTP) campaign set a goal of finishing on top of the medal standings, and those lofty standards received a great deal of press from all over the world heading into these Olympic games. “Own the Podium” was on the defensive for much of the first week of the Olympics after medals failed to materialize in large numbers, but the second week, especially the final few days, saw Canadian athletes haul in a number of medals, and finish a very respectable third in the final medal count. Canada’s 26 medals were the most this country has ever won at the Winter Olympics, and bettered Turin’s medal count by two.
Even more impressive is the fact that Canada set a Winter Olympic record by winning a whopping 14 gold medals. From Alexandre Bilodeau’s first gold medal in the moguls to Sidney Crosby’s golden goal, Canadians from coast to coast to coast had a number of reasons to celebrate their athletes performances over the past sixteen days, and “Own the Podium” has to be given credit for providing financial support to our athletes, allowing them the opportunity to excel at their respective sports. Hearing the Canadian National Anthem fourteen times was incredably inspirational, and made all the more important by the fact that Canada was the only nation to ever host the Olympics without winning a gold medal. The pressure was immense, but Canada’s athletes passed this test in flying colours.
The success of these Olympics is not entirely due to the the work of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), VANOC, or the “Own the Podium” campaign. It was the citizens of Vancouver who made these games truly special. The Olympics got off to a troubling start. The opening ceremonies were remembered mainly for a malfunctioning hydrolic arm on the Olympic flame, the weather at Cyprus Hill was less then stellar and tickets at the events had to be refunded as a result, resurfacing the ice at the Richmond Oval proved surprisingly difficult early on, spectators faced a number of transportation issues, and no one will ever forget the tragic death of luge competitor Nodar Kumaritasvili.
The games in Vancouver were quickly spiralling into an absolute failure in the eyes of many, but everything began to change when the city of Vancouver came together to welcome the world. President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Roggue stated that one of the lasting images from the games in Vancouver will be the people coming together on the streets to celebrate not only national pride and the athlete’s performance, but also celebrating the fact that the eyes of the world were focused on Vancouver for two weeks. The phenomenal performances of Canadian athletes led to a tidal wave of national pride in a country that rarely displays pride in such a public manner, and the people of Vancouver deserve a great deal of credit for making this such a memorable Winter Olympics.
Now that the Olympics are over, and the legacy of Vancouver’s games as one of the best is set in stone, people are now starting to evaluate the true value of “Own the Podium”. The OTP program is slated to be re-evaluated in the near future in an attempt to figure out what works and what improvements could be made. The first concern is going to surround funding the program. Rumours are already beginning to swirl that the federal government is not going to renew their funding for OTP, and they are encouraging the private sector to pick up the slack for the funding cutbacks. It is also not yet clear if the provices will continue to fund the program. Money issues are always going be a cause of concern, but there are other issues surrounding OTP that also have to be addressed.
Many people, including myself, feel that too much emphasis is being placed on winning medals when it comes to the Olympics and “Own the Podium”. The program was pushing the agenda of Canada winning the most medals at Vancouver, which placed massive pressure on our athletes, who were already facing the pressure of competing at home. While many athletes were able to live up to the billing, there were some unreal expectations being placed on Canadian athletes. The Alpine ski team was unable to bring home a medal at these Olympic games and faced the wrath of many for not doing so. Alpin skiing is one of the toughest events to predict, and finishing fifth in the downhill, as Erik Guay did, is nothing to sneeze at. However, many saw this as a failure due to the heavy expectations being placed on this team. Finishing fifth in the world is hardly ’choking’ but that is how many percieved this performance due to the hype surrounding the team heading into the Olympics.
Another problem with focusing solely on winning medals is the fact that some outstanding performances were glossed over. Cross country skier Devon Kershaw put in one of the greatest Canadian performances in an event that Canadians rarely do well in. Kershaw finished fifth in the 50km marathon, just 1.5 seconds behind the gold medal winner. Now I realize the race took place on the same day the men’s hockey team won gold, but I do not feel Kershaw received the attention he deserved for a great performance. This is just one example of a superb performance that did not garner near enough attention due to the fact that resulted only in a personal best and not a medal.
The Vancouver games were a stunning success for not only the athletes, the city of Vancouver, but for the entire country. However, the question now is how will Canada build off the success of Vancouver? Changes are going to be made with OTP, and everyone should be hoping these changes are for the good, so the success of Canadian athletes is not limited to Olympic games that are held only in this country, but we carry the success of Vancouver into future Olympic games.