LOOKING DEEPER
Canada has bigger, stronger pool for 2018 Olympics, says Own the Podium CEO Anne Merklinger
Given the speed, given the frozen playing surfaces, injuries are not just a possibility in elite winter sport. Calamity, unfortunately, is a given for those brave souls who train and compete daily on skates, snowboards, skis and sleds with the goal of representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
But with Thursday marking a year to the opening ceremony, the Canadian Olympic team is deeper than in recent times. And that depth should help buffer the Canadian contingent if and when big names go down with injury prior to Pyeongchang.
Prior to the Vancouver Games, aerialist Deidra Dionne retired after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, downhill skier Kelly VanderBeek suffered a catastrophic knee injury, and cross-country skier Chandra Crawford was beset with ankle and lower-leg injuries requiring surgery. On the men’s side, 2009 world downhill champion John Kucera was sidelined by a broken leg, while ski cross hopefuls Dave Duncan and Brady Leman were unable to compete after suffering injuries during training.
“Our pool is bigger and stronger,” Anne Merklinger, chief executive officer of Own the Podium, told Postmedia earlier this week. “Just look at slopestyle and big air in snowboard where at every World Cup, there’s a reshuffling of what Canadian athletes are in the top five or six. And it’s the same in some of the top sports, even long track and short track. We’re definitely deeper than we were.”
That depth should make for stressful times over the next 11 months as Canada’s top winter athletes battle internally for limited spots on the Olympic team.
At the 2014 Sochi Games — an exercise marred by rampant doping by the host country exposed in the Richard McLaren report — Canada finished fourth in total medals with 25. Russia (cough, cough) led the way with 33 medals, followed by the U.S with 28 and Norway at 26.
As of Tuesday morning, Canada sat in third place overall this season in World Cup medals with 116 — behind only Germany (163) and the U.S. (126).
Canada is also in third place when ranked by gold medals with 41 compared to 45 for the Americans and 64 for Germany.
But the real test — in the eyes of Own the Podium — comes at the upcoming world championships for most of the major winter sports. Given the format, given the pressure, the world championships are seen as the best predictor of success a year from now in Pyeongchang.
“This is a critical year for us,” Merklinger said. “The world championships are the most critical benchmark opportunity for us. It’s the year where all the countries attend, and all the top athletes are attending.”
Heading into the world championships, Canada is expected to shine in the usual sports — figure skating, curling and freestyle skiing — but also in areas where success has been elusive for those wearing the Maple Leaf.
Canada failed to win a medal in skeleton at the Sochi Games. This time around, Mirela Rahneva and Elisabeth Vathje are legitimate threats based on their World Cup performance in 2016-17.
In cross-country skiing, no Canadian man has ever graced the Olympic podium. Watch for that to change in Pyeongchang with Alex Harvey a contender in all six events, including the team sprint and men’s relay.
“Cross country is a really good story,” Merklinger said. “The men’s program has really emerged over the last six weeks.”
Back in 2014, Canada won two medals in snowboard: bronze to Mark McMorris in slopestyle and silver to Dominique Maltais in snowboardcross. That number should at least double in Pyeongchang, with Canada threatening to sweep the podium in men’s big air and slopestyle.
“We’re seeing breakthroughs in sports we haven’t seen in recent times,” Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Overholt told Postmedia this week before boarding a flight to Pyeongchang for a site visit. “We’re excited about what’s coming.”