Canada in its brief worldly existence has a rich heritage of national pride that came out when our athletes wore the colours of our humble nation at the Vancouver Olympic Games.
Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1989 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The result? Zero gold medals.
The Canadian government had a plan five years ago that would enable our athletes to excel for the first time ever at home.
The Canadian Olympic Committee along with the help of the federal government has been helping Canadian athletes bear the burden of competing at the highest level.
The federal government gave Canadian athletes about $117 million over the last five years for what they called “Own The Podium.” It put expectations on our athletes to rise to the top of the medal standings at this year’s Winter Games.
Perhaps the mistake the COC made was promising $35 million Canadians that at the end, Canada would sit on top of the standings.
It was an acceptable goal for our athletes to reach as Canada finished the 2006 Games in Turin just one medal shy of the United States, but not everything always goes according to plan.
Canada wanted to be on top of the medal standings, but there are other reasons why Canadians can feel proud of their athletes.
Not only did our they break the jinx of never having won a gold medal on home soil, but they set a record by winning 14 gold medals, while setting a new precedent for nations to aspire to beating the previous record by the former Soviet Union that stood since 1932.
Canadians should be overwhelmed by our athletes’ gold medal performances.
Canadian athletes made a bold statement by winning more gold than silver or bronze seemingly weren’t willing to settle for anything less than the best.
Silver and Bronze medals are wonderful, but they just don’t compare to being number one. Winning gold and hearing thousands of Canadians sing the nation anthem as the athletes cup their medals in hand and try to take a bite to see if they’re real.
By winning gold in Vancouver, Canadian athletes weren’t on top of the medal standings, but their performances will inspire the next generation of athletes to climb to the very top of the podium.