2010 Winter Olympics: Canada Needs To Be Better

I have tried to watch all of Canada’s athletes participate in their respective events at the 2010 Olympics. I really have.

Through it all, I have held high hopes for Canada and its athletes. Yet on far too many occasions, I have been left disappointed, embarrassed, and frustrated with the lack of results.

To be fair, thus far, there has been plenty to cheer about. Alexandre Bilodeau’s gold medal effort in the men’s moguls, Kristina Groves’ gutsy bronze medal performance in the women's 3000m speed skating, Maelle Ricker’s gold medal in women's snowboarding, and Marianne St. Gerais’ exciting silver medal in the women's 500m on the short track all stick out as exemplary performances that the athletes and Canada can be proud of.

Despite success in many events, there has been a multitude of letdowns by Canadian athletes—many of whom have been shockingly absent from the podium despite being in position to collect a medal on countless occasions.

Melissa Hollingsworth was favored to win a medal in skeleton—and didn’t. Heading into the final run, she was in second position—looking every bit the champion she was thought to be. Then, almost on cue, Hollingsworth bumped the sides of the track—and just like that, her medal hopes at the Vancouver Olympics were lost.

Hollingsworth’s choke is not a unique situation for Canada in Vancouver. Patrick Chan was favored to be on the podium for men’s figure skating, and he failed to deliver. Women’s moguls skier Kristi Richards fell on her final run, costing her a chance at a medal, and Canada’s men’s alpine team was also shut out of the medals despite being among the favorites to bring home some "bling."

Without getting into a full-on rant by naming all of Canada’s failures at the Vancouver games, rest assured, there have been plenty—and I, for one, am fed up with it.

Why is it every time an Olympics rolls around, Canada seems to come up well short of expectations? Needless to say, you can’t win 'em all, but winning our fair share would be nice, wouldn’t it?

The Canadian mantra heading into these games was—and, despite the questionable results by many, still is—“Own the Podium.” As it turns out, Big Brother USA is owning the podium with 20 medals through early Friday evening—and counting, which in itself is very painful to watch at times for many Canadians.

Canada was expected to haul in nearly 30 medals in Vancouver. Thus far, Canada has a grand total of seven medals.

Even if Canada meets expectations and achieves the 10 to 12 medals it is expected to win in the second half of the games, it will still be well short of expectations. “Own the Podium” my butt!

Nearly $120 million was invested in Canadian athletes during the past five years. Thus far, it appears as if Canada should have spent less money on training and more money on sports psychologists.

Many of Canada’s athletes are making huge mental mistakes in their respective events, costing medals and strengthening the perception that Canadian athletes are chokers.

It all wreaks of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where Canada continually fell short of the podium—often finishing in the top five, rarely finishing in a medal position.

Nobody remembers top five finishes. Heck, some would argue people don’t remember silver or bronze medal efforts, either, so Canada’s effort thus far—outside of a few outstanding efforts—has been forgettable.

If you are looking for Canada to rise up in the face of defeat, don’t hold your breath. History, and now Vancouver, have taught us that if Canada can screw up, they more often than not will. The proof is on the podium. Canada’s absence says it all.

To read more of my Olympic and NHL coverage, please check out my Web site at

http://theslapshot.com.