Olympic dreams and disappointments
Re If Jocelyne Larocque can’t take off her silver medal, then what the hell are we doing here? Arthur, Feb. 24
Although Jocelyne Larocque didn’t throw the silver medal into the stands, she took it off much too quickly. She should have known that the medal ceremony would be televised, especially in Canada, with so many people watching, especially young girls playing minor hockey.
Although I appreciate that she and others of the Canadian team were disappointed, it was a display of poor sportsmanship. Her apology is certainly warranted. John Clarke, Nepean, Ont. My colleagues and I were discussing Jocelyne Larocque’s actions. Anyone who has competed in sports has lost a big game — it happens. Yes, this was Canada vs. the U.S., hockey, Olympics, big rivalry — and all that.
But how quickly we forget the cries of “poor sportsmanship” regarding the Swedish player at the World Junior championships who threw his silver medal into the stands.
Or, as one of my colleagues argued, how would Canadians have reacted if an American player had taken her silver medal off in 2014? I’d think we’d be discussing poor sportsmanship and disrespecting her opponent and the game itself. Andrew Frise, Orangeville The picture of three desolate Canadian women hockey players receiving their second-place medals in the Olympics as if being part of a grief ceremony tells all we need to know of the “winning means everything” mentality so pervasive in sports today.
Canadian teams had won at the four previous Olympics, but that wasn’t enough. No matter how good they played or how deserving the other team was, for them, it was still a tragedy to lose the gold medal.
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well.” “The important thing in life is not to triumph, but to compete.” Those quotes by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, have been mostly forgotten, if not ridiculed nowadays.
Canadian athletes: if you have given your best effort competing and still lost, you have honoured yourselves and your country. Jaime Oksemberg, Toronto
Re Canada’s crew of unwanteds blew their chance, Feschuk, Feb. 23
The premise of Dave Feschuk’s column suggests that if only the NHL had allowed its players to compete, then Canada would be spared the “shambolic excuse for a tournament.”
What a load of baloney. Feschuk conveniently ignores the fact that the Germans were also without NHL players, as was every other team in the tournament. Canada lost because we played poorly and the better team won. Not because of the absence of NHL players.
What makes the Olympics interesting and inspiring is that unex- pected things can happen when amateurs compete on equal footing. And that’s exactly what happened.
The idea that Canada was supposed to win this game is hogwash. This superiority complex is precisely the reason why we lost.
We failed to take our competitors seriously because Canadians have been brainwashed into believing we are the only hockey nation. We aren’t, and that’s a very good thing for international competitive sport. Lori Wilkinson, Winnipeg
Re Canada should be upping its game for Olym
pic gold, Opinion, Feb. 23
I am still shaking my head over Richard Florida’s statistical model demonstrating that, based on a number of economic and demographic factors, Canada should be winning more gold medals than it is doing now in South Korea.
Canada is on the cusp of winning more Winter Olympic medals than ever and we are offered an academic model saying we should be doing better. Thanks but surely this is the time to celebrate our athletes’ great achievements in Pyeongchang (other than curling!) and not lose sight that Canada’s success is over a wide variety of sports.
Can we do better? Sure. But first and foremost, let us ensure we do better in making athletic participation open to more Canadian children. You don’t need an academic model for that. Simon Rosenblum, Toronto I was surprised and saddened to watch Canadian ice skater Gabrielle Daleman’s unfortunate performance during the women’s free skate competition.
But I was horrified to watch the cold reception she received from her two coaches immediately afterward. They abandoned her when she needed them most. Maurice Sacco, Toronto Forget Harry and Meagan. Canada has our own royal couple: Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue. Amazing! Diane Sullivan, Toronto