Well hold onto your hats kids… for a week that started off looking like it was going to be a little embarrassing for whoever it was within the Canadian Government ranks that coined the phrase “Own The Podium”, the Canadian Olympians are really finishing with the wind at their heels.
I really don’t have the time to go into each amazing achievement on their own unfortunately. Sleep is needed ahead of the history-making day/gold medal hockey game tomorrow between Team Canada & the USA – another great shot at gold!
So, I’m going to do my best here to quickly acknowledge those Canadians of whom we are extremely proud of who received medals since last Thursday (Ladies Ice Hockey GOLD!), with emphasis placed on those athletes who have been responsible for the flurry of gold experienced this weekend which has already sealed Canada’s position as one of, if not the most successful nation in any Winter Olympics with a gold medal haul of 13 already (with one to come – fingers crossed!).
Thursday – 25 February, 2010
Ladies Free Skating – Joannie Rochette (Bronze)
A true heart-tugging story this one. Joannie’s beloved mother passed away last Sunday suffering a heart attack after arriving in Vancouver for the Games. She missed witnessing her daughter’s courageous short program by just 2 days. After she landed everything, earned the highest short-program marks of her life and secured herself an Olympic bronze medal, the tears started flowing both for Joannie and every inspired spectator in the stadium. What a moment.
Friday – 26 February, 2010
Ladies Curling – Canada (Silver)
After being a tower of strength and concentration for the past week and a bit, in the end Canada’s skip, the super sexy (I think so anyway) Cheryl Bernard, missed a pair of gold-medal winning shots in the 10th and 11th ends to lose to 7-6 to Sweden. A mighty effort nonetheless from the team – Susan O’Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire, Cori Bartel, Kristie Moore. The Canadian ladies are partly to blame for why I have a real respect for curling now. It’s actually really entertaining!
Men’s 500m Short Track Speed Skating – Charles Hamelin (Gold)
Men’s 500m Short Track Speed Skating – Francois-Louis Tremblay (Bronze)
In a wild final corner of the men’s 500m final, Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay clashed with US glamour boy Apollo Ohno. The tussle effected South Korea’s Sung Si-Bak’s line as well reducing Hamelin’s final lunge for the line and ultimate gold. After review, Apollo Ohno was disqualified for pushing and Tremblay was rightfully promoted to the bronze medal position.
Men’s 5,000m Relay Short Track Speed Skating – Canada (Gold)
Gold medal winner Charles Hamelin joined fellow medalist Francois-Louis Tremblay, his brother Francois Hamelin and team mate Olivier Jean to take on talented squads from South Korea, China and the USA (amongst others) in the 5,000m relay on the short track. Happy to sit behind early pace setters China for the opening half of the race, the Canadian team used a measured strategy to ease in front of China in a crucial move that allowed them to cruise to victory and claim another Canadian gold!
Saturday – 27 February, 2010
Men’s 4-Man Bobsleigh – Canada (Bronze)
I have to admit I didn’t get to see this event LIVE. I suspect I was lining up for something, somewhere. Regardless, the boys (Lyndon Rush, Chris Le Bihan, David Bissett & Lascelles Brown) threw their little rocket down the Whistler ice tube with skill and confidence, only missing the silver medal (which went to Germany) by a measly 0.01 sec. A super effort from the fellas!
Men’s Team Pursuit Long Track Speed Skating (Gold)
This was a really cool event to watch, and from the Heineken House down in Richmond, home to the Dutch team who are the historical champions in long track speed skating, I managed to take in every last enthralling second of the race which saw the Canadian team comprising of Mathieu Giroux, Lucas Makowsky and Denny Morrison beat arch enemies, the USA, across the line to chalk up another Canadian gold on the medal tally sheet.
Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Snowboarding – Jasey Jay Anderson (Gold)
Team Canada veteran Jasey Jay Anderson pulled out the snowboarding run of his life in the second run of the final of the men’s parallel giant slalom to upset Austrian favourite Benjamin Karl for gold!
Men’s Curling – Canada (Gold)
While the Norwegian Team were unanimous winners when it came to Olympic competition fashion, it was the Canadian team skippered by veteran Kevin Martin and consisting of John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Herbert and Adam Enright, who were the most accurate on the day taking away a very popular gold for Canada!
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