The coast was gold, but Canada’s results were not
Team falls far short of triple-digit goal at Commonwealth Games in Australia
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA While Canada fell well short of its goal of 100- plus medal sat the Commonwealth Games, team officials say the true test of the Gold Coast Games will come two years from now at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lessons learned in Australia should pay off in 2020, said Canadian chef de mission Claire CarverDias.
“It’s intelligence,” said Carver-Dias, a former synchronized swimmer who won medals at the Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan American Games. “You’re gathering data.
“And people underestimate the Commonwealth Games,” she said.
“We’re chronically underfunded, but it’s listed as a milestone in the performance pathway and athletes keep saying these games are important. It’s a checkpoint. Olympians are going to benefit from being here.”
Carver-Dias’s words are undoubtedly true.
But like the Commonwealth itself, questions about the relevance of the so-called Friendly Games seems to grow every four years.
Supporters point to the games’ inclusivity, with gender medal equality and para-events as part of the program. They also noted the games’ reconciliation plan with Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
After some bold talk of a tripledigit medal haul, Canada had to wait until the final day of competition to match its total of 82 from four years ago in Glasgow.
A poor finale by the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team Sunday meant a possible medal No. 83 — a bronze — would instead go to England.
Thanks in part to an unexpected men’s basketball silver, Canada finished with 15 gold, 40 silver and 27 bronze.
While the total medals did not change from Glasgow, the number of golds plummeted from 31 to 15.
Canada finished third in total medals behind Australia’s 198, including 80 gold, and England’s 136, 45 of which were gold.
But it was fourth when it came to golds with India, which had 66 total medals and 16 golds.
Track and field, not helped by the late withdrawal of sprinter Andre De Gr as se, was down to 13 medals from 17. A young rhythmic gymnastics team won two medals, down from six in 2014.
Wrestling was down from 12 to 10 with head coach Tonya Verbeek seeing a need to revamp some things after a few spotty performances.
But led by 17-year-old Taylor Ruck’s eight medals, including a gold and five silvers, swimming won 20 medals compared to 11 in Glasgow.
Boxing produced six medals, double the output four years ago.
When Damian Warner stumbled in the decathlon, Pierce LePage stepped up to the podium. Haley Smith overtook Emily Batty to take mountain bike bronze.
While the peaks seemed to cancel out the valleys, Canadian team officials will be studying the numbers and performances to see why Own The Podium’s projection of some 100 medals — the actual number was 112, but they wanted to dampen expectations — wasn’t met. The youth of the Canadian team, the power of Team Australia and asp ate of fourth-place finishes—thelawn bowl steam had five alone — were cited. There was plenty to celebrate. Joanna Brown rallied from a fractured shoulder to win triathlon bronze. Maude Charron, a relative newcomer to weightlifting, hoisted gold. Ellie Black, with two gold and a silver, was a class act in gymnastics.
Canada’s women ruled the sand in the Commonwealth Games debut of beach volleyball, with the men taking silver in a thriller.
Back stroker Kylie Masse followed up her 2017 world title with double individual gold and are lay silver. Wrestler Diana Weicker, a mother of two and part-time pediatric nurse, won gold.
Wheelchair racer Diane Roy, at 47, won bronze. And 20-yearold boxer Thomas Blumenfeld, marked by welts, proudly put his body on the line to earn silver.
Diver Jennifer Abel bounced back from a disaster in the synchronized three-metre springboard to win gold in the individual event. And let’s not forget 70-yearold shooter Robert Pitcairn, the oldest competitor ever at the Commonwealth Games.
But the show belonged to Australia. The home team won 73 medals, including 28 gold, in the swimming pool alone.
Australia soared into top spot in the medal standings with 198, up from 137 four years ago when it finished second to England.
But it didn’t improve its own record at Melbourne in 2006 when the host nation won 221 medals, including 84 gold.
England slipped to second spot at the Gold Coast with 136, down from 174 in Glasgow.
The heavyweights didn’t hog all the medals. The British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands all won medals for the first time at a games. But 13 of the 71 nations that competed in these games will have to wait four more years to hunt for a first-ever medal.
The sports were well-attended, with locals in the majority.
The fact that most of the spectators were Australian added to the atmosphere in the venues if not the streets. People went to the venues and they went home.
Other than a transportation glitch for the public at the opening ceremonies, there were few complaints. The games were wellorganized with an army of cheery volunteers.
“They were incredible games,” Canada’s assistant chef de mission Benoit Huot said.
“The organizing committee delivered. The people from the Gold Coast and Australians were proud to receive those games, and we felt it.”
It’s intelligence … It’s a checkpoint. Olympians are going to benefit from being here.