2010 Top 10 Canadian Olympic Heroes

The games for Canada kicked off on a rather poor note winning only eight medals in the first week of competition.

Many Canadians were starting to feel that the games were going to be a huge failure, but during that second week the athletes kicked it up into full gear.

Claiming 18 medals in the final week, Canada set a record for most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympic Games. Canada also beat their all time medal count at a games by two medals.

The following is a look at Canada's top 10 Canadian heroes of the games.

10. Kristina Groves (Silver, Bronze)

Groves did not get the same hype as skaters Hughes or Klassen got, but she certainly proved her skill in the long track.

Groves was the first Canadian to win multiple medals at the games including a silver in the 1500 and bronze in the 3000 race. Kristina was one of three Canadian women to win medals in long track.

At 33 years of age Groves may have skated in her last Olympic games, but with her performance she has certainly left her mark on all Canadians.

9. Maelle Ricker (Gold)

Maelle Ricker won Canada's second gold medal of the games, and really dominated in the process.

Snowboard cross is an intense sport in which four athletes compete in a race down a course filled with steep turns and high jumps all while battling it out with your other competitors. Maelle managed to win fairly handily, dispatching all opponents in four races on route to the gold.

8. Jenn Heil (Silver)

Jenn really got the ball rolling for the Canadians. In the first day of competition, in the first medal event of the Olympics, Jenn won the first medal for Canada.

Coming into the games Jenn was the favorite to win the gold medal in women's moguls, but failed to do so this year. Despite the disappointment of finishing in second Jenn kept her composure, and was very classy throughout.

Jenn has won the first medals for Canada in two straight Olympics now, and will likely retire soon. The sport will certainly miss this world class athlete.

7. Jon Montgomery (Gold)

Jon Montgomery is a Canadian through and through.

Competing in one of the most dangerous sports of the games (skeleton) Jon truly was the class of the field.

Jon captured the hearts of many Canadians after his gold medal win. From his great celebrations at the podium to his parade through Vancouver. The Calgary native certainly has his name etched in the minds of many after his performance.

6. Ashleigh McIvor (Gold)

Ashleigh McIvor may have been Canada's most dominant athlete of the 2010 games. From start to finish Ashleigh's gold medal was never in doubt.

Ashleigh competed in ski cross, which made its Olympic debut this year. Thus making her the first ever gold medalist in ski cross.

The Wholeshot master ran through four rounds without ever losing the lead. Her performance was truly amazing, and will not be soon forgotten.

5. Clara Hughes (Bronze)

Clara Hughes will go down as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Hughes is the only Olympian to ever win multiple medals in the summer and winter games. In 1996 she won two bronze medals in the summer games. After that she got into speed skating. in 2002 she won a bronze medal, in 2006 she won a gold and silver medal.

Finally in the last race of her career in Vancouver she won a bronze medal in an amazing performance in the 5000m distance.

The Canadian flag bearer shall certainly go down as one of Canada's greatest athletes, and will be sorely missed on the track.

4. Charles Hamelin (Gold, Gold)

Hamelin would be the first to tell you that he did not get off on the best foot this Olympics but boy did he ever end with a bang.

In the same day in the span of about an hour Charles Hamelin won two gold medals. Hamelin was the only Canadian athlete to win two gold medals at the games.

In the 500m Hamelin was dominant winning every qualification, and sneaking out a win against the sports most dominant skater, Apollo Anton Ohno.

Finally shortly after the first Hamelin and company won the team pursuit, a 48 lap sprint to the finish.

Hamelin could have easily had four or more medals, but the two gold is certainly enough to make him an Olympic hero.

3. Team Canada (Gold)

The premier event in the Olympics was surely hockey. All Canadians had been waiting for this moment since the disastrous finish in Turin.

Things got off to a very rocky start as they barely pushed past the Swiss, and suffered a loss to the Americans.

That loss though seemed to be the best thing that could have happened to them. After steamrolling the Germans, they blew the Russians out of the water. They met the Slovaks in the semi's and seemed to have trouble but sneaked out a win, which led to a rematch of the gold metal game eight years ago.

That game will certainly go down in history as one of Canada's most defining moments, as they won in OT on a goal by none other than Sidney Crosby.

This gold meant the world to Canada.

2. Joannie Rochette (Bronze)

Joannie Rochette is truly an Olympic hero.

Just days before her event after arriving in Vancouver her mother passed away. What should have been the best day of her life turned extremely tragic.

This didn't stop her though, an emotional Rochette decided that she was still going to compete in the games, and compete she did.

Rochette threw down to amazing, flawless skates to bring home the bronze medal for Canada.

Her courage and spirit should inspire all Canadians to never give up even when all else may seem lost.

Rochette really is an amazing athlete.

1. Alexandre Bilodeau (Gold)

Alexandre Bilodeau's gold will go down in the history books.

Bilodeau is the first Canadian to ever win gold on home soil.

Bilodeau is a competitor in Mens moguls, and was ranked well, but was not supposed to win it all. After one run Bilodeau sat second behind the hands down favorite Dale Begg Smith. In the second round, Bilodeau's incredible performance landed him in first with only Begg-Smith left. In that last run, one tiny mistake on the last jump cost the Aussie the gold.

The crowd erupted as the scores came in, and Bilodeau was on top. With class and dignity Bilodeau received his gold, for him, for his country, but especially for his brother Frederic.

Frederic Bilodeau suffers from Cereberal Palsy, and was Alexandre's main inspiration to compete in the event. The two inspired he world, and lit a fire under Canadian athletes which resulted in the best outing by Canada at an Olympic Games. Bilodeau is an amazing athlete, and is the number one hero of Vancouver 2010.