We’re proud of our athletes, win or lose

Though it may seem odd to say, given some of Canada’s high-profile Olympic disappointments over the last two weeks, Pyeongchang represented Canada’s best ever Winter Games.

Yes, Canada’s highly-touted men’s and women’s curling teams crashed out of the medals. The men’s hockey team was stunned by Germany in their semifinal but went on to defeat the Czech Republic to win bronze. And there were the inevitable crashes and disqualifications that ended Olympic victory dreams for some of our athletes.

But those setbacks only underline the depth, strength and balance of this year’s Canadian team. For we still finished with 29 medals — our best Olympics showing in history, eclipsing the 26 won in Vancouver in 2010.

Canada also finished third overall, behind Norway and Germany, with 11 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze. The medals came from both team and individual events, roughly split among men and women on the 226-member team.

It’s the fourth straight Winter Olympics where Canada topped the 20-medal mark, which previously it had never done.

More importantly, this year’s results can seed similar success in the future.

“Every one of these athletes who goes home with a medal inspires a new generation of future athletes, a willingness to get more involved with sport, be more physically fit,” says Anne Merklinger, CEO of Own The Podium, the Canadian not-for-profit that funds development of high-performance athletes.

Well done, Canada. The medals are great, but we’re also proud of all our athletes, win or lose.