Special moments better than medal chase
For any viewer looking for a constant parade of Canadians to the centre podium, it appears Sochi will not be Vancouver. After winning 14 gold in 2010, four more than any other country, Canada has five gold medals so far at these Winter Games.
And while there are four days of competition remaining and Canadians still have several chances to win gold, silver and bronze, it appears these Games won’t have as many thrilling, chest-thumping, nation-defining moments as the Vancouver Olympics. I’m still waiting for the equivalent of Jon Montgomery walking through Whistler with a pitcher of beer in his hand.
For Canadians in Sochi, there has been more disappointment and tension than expected. Some of our silver medals were silver linings. There have been a handful of fourthplace finishes and a few crashes and spills that have cost Canadian medal hopefuls. And let’s just say Latvia should never have given the entire nation so much anxiety in the men’s hockey tournament.
Even without any big surprises in the final few days, Canada will come close to replicating its medal count from 2010. But as spectators, the total number of podium appearances should not be our primary focus. Nor should it be for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
For some reason, the COC sets goals for Canadian gold medals and podium appearances going into each of the last few Olympic Games.
While acknowledging not everything has gone according to plan, COC president Marcel Aubut suggested that we often have a strong second half, as though the Olympics were a race and not a whole bunch of separate and distinct competitions scattered over 16 days.
The International Olympic Committee’s charter defines the Games as a competition between individual athletes and teams, not countries. The debate over how to organize the medal standings — by total medals or by gold — is because the IOC doesn’t officially keep track. We shouldn’t either.
But athletes do stand out and if Jennifer Jones wins gold in women’s curling, she should get strong consideration to carry the flag for Canada at the closing ceremony.