Deserving of our praise
Canadian athletes turn in country’s best results in non-boycotted summer Games
DE JANEIRO — It is the nature of Canadian Olympic wrapup news conferences to be liberally coated with syrup — maple, of course — with some out-and-out applesauce thrown in.
Parents, sponsors, patrons, governments, local organizing committee, volunteers, bus drivers, housemaids, pool cleaners … if you haven’t been thanked by the Canadian mission staff, you don’t exist.
The media, for instance. Well, we didn’t expect it. They competed with ice in their veins, we competed with ice in our caipirinhas. (That’s the local poison.)
This time, though, the Canadian Olympic team’s leaders had it about right. Rio 2016 was a heck of a Games for Canada’s athletes, who posted a record-equaling medal count for a non-boycotted Summer Games: 22 total, the same as in Atlanta 20 years ago, but with four gold medals to three in ’96.
They performed against a sometimes chaotic backdrop of unmet promises by the Rio organizers, but kept their own. They were surrounded by complaints of those outside the Olympic bubble, but theirs were few, and quiet.
Statistically, too, they accomplished what they came here to do. They wanted to finish among the top 12 countries in total medals. They were 10th. They came into the Games with 36 athletes or teams ranked in the top-five in the world, and had 43 top-five finishes.
They had some heartbreak from high hopes — world champions Mark de Jonge (seventh in his kayak final) and Shawn Barber (10th in pole vault), diver Jennifer Abel was 0-for-2 in her events, Brooke Henderson came up short of a medal in women’s golf, swimmer Ryan Cochrane, after medals in the previous two Olympics, finished sixth in the 1,500 metres — but their teammates picked them up. That’s what depth will do for you. “These Olympics have been a story about team,” COC president Tricia Smith said, “because some sports didn’t have the performances they were hoping for, and other sports stepped up their game. That’s what happens with a team.”
Kick-started by a wholly unexpected bonanza of six swimming medals — including an individual gold and silver and two relay bronzes from 16-year-old Penny Oleksiak, an obvious choice as Canada’s closing ceremony flagbearer — women won every Canadian medal until Day 9 when Andre De Grasse raced Usain Bolt and won bronze in the 100 metres.
Without the swimmers, Sunday’s press conference might have had a whole different tone. In the ebb and flow of sports, swimming and track and field stepped up, rowers and kayakers fell back.
“Early in the Games, the women in the pool totally blew my mind,” said assistant chef de mission Carol Hyunh, the gold medal wrestler from Beijing.
“There was a sense of girl power pride that was felt by the entire team, and the women’s rugby team … their ‘strong is beautiful’ message is such an important one to send to young girls and women.”
“There might have been a little rib-jabbing (from the females), saying ‘When are you guys going to step up?’ ” said chef de mission Curt Harnett.
“But the support and the spirit within the residence in the village was really quite spectacular and that helped, because there’s always both sides. Whenever there’s a winner, there’s also somebody losing. And there were some ambitions and goals unfulfilled.”
But they were outnumbered by the over-performers: The women’s swim and soccer teams; double diving medalist Meaghan Benfeito; equestrian Eric Lamaze aboard Fine Lady 5; 5,000 metres runner Mohammed Ahmed (ranked 17th but finished fourth); and marathoner Eric Gillis (ranked 185th, finished 10th).
But the main group of medalists come from the “performed” category. Expected to do well, and did: The bronze by the women’s rugby sevens; trampolinist Rosie MacLennan defending her 2012 title; golds from wrestler Erica Wiebe and high jumper Derek Drouin; decathlete Damian Warner and heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton rallying for bronze; Benfeito and Roseline Filion in 10m synchronized platform diving; Andre De Grasse, the first Canadian sprinter ever to medal in three events; Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee in women’s double sculls; the women’s cycling team pursuit — and two who performed well but didn’t win medals: Henderson in golf; and Melissa Bishop setting a Canadian record in the 800 metres but utterly overmatched against hyperandrogenic South African Caster Semenya.
The fourth category, robbed, would include boxers Ariane Fortin and Arthur Biyarslanov, and the guy who covered them for Postmedia, Ed Willes, who had his iPhone pocketpicked.
And then, race walker Evan Dunfee, who lost his bronze medal on an appeal, refused to moan about it, and must be the most inspirational fourth-place finisher in Canadian Olympic history.
“Evan Dunfee defined Olympism,” said Harnett, “with his actions on the field of play, and with his words after.”
Canadians did a pretty good job of defining it, all around, in Rio. And they behaved themselves. There were no Ryan Lochte scandals spoiling it for Team Canada.
“We feel we did a really strong and successful job of having our athletes understand and respect the environment they were coming into, and just complying and using common sense ,” said Harnett.
So, 10th place and a bunch of young stars emerging. Does Canada set its goals even higher for Tokyo 2020? Eighth, perhaps?
“We’ll have to look at the price tag,” said Smith, the COC president, “and see if that’s something we can do.” ccole@postmedia.com