Sporty's Final? Olympic Report #10 - The Good, the Bad and the Pretty! Or just darn Cute.
Hi there! It's Sporty again, one last time (maybe) - to wrap up everything I that touched my heart in some way during these past two weeks.
‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ - this is the motto of the Olympic Games. On the world stage, in front of millions of fans, casual viewers and spectacle watchers, generally far from home, Olympians strive towards these goals, with predictable results. Not just predictable in terms of the medals awarded or the placements achieved; but in the actual events occurring during those two short weeks.
In every Olympic competition, there are those who enter the fray favoured to win, those who are hoping to gain experience in preparation for future competitions and those simply planning to compete in the greatest international competition in the world.
For as with all sport, the only thing that is predictable is that sport is entirely unpredictable. That is why the games are played and why the competitors compete. Because anything can happen.
The days, even years, leading up to the quadrennial event are preparation for that one moment when an athlete or team can stand proudly atop the podium and hear the cheers of the world and their own national anthem. That time is filled with gruelling training, vast sacrifices, bitter disappointment, and incredible surprises and, in some cases, great debate regarding the qualification or selection for the Games. All these things culminate in an intensely competitive and highly nationalistic two-week event.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics provided many highlights and ‘low’-lights as well as enduring athleticism and happy faces. I know I have missed some memorable moments. These are the people and moments that captured my attention throughout the two weeks, leaving me with Games withdrawal in these weeks that followed.
The lowest point of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games occurred before the Games had even been officially opened. According to some, the Whistler Sliding Centre was ‘too fast’ and ‘too dangerous’. On this day, it claimed the life of a young Georgian luger who was taking a normal training run on the 1st day of the Games. The Olympic Games opened on a sombre note, honouring the memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili, 20 years-old.
The tragedy put into perspective the rampant speculation as to who was going to light the Olympic cauldron. With all the fanfare, a beautiful spectacle was slightly marred by the malfunction of the actual cauldron inside BC Place. But the opening was completed with a tour through the streets of Vancouver lead by Canada’s best-known athlete, Wayne Gretzky, who lit the main outdoor torch on the waterfront.
From the lowest moment to one of the highest.
A great fear for the host country of the Olympics is to come away empty-handed. This, the third time that Canada would host the Olympics, the team was determined to not only come away with gold, but show the world just how prominent Canadian athletes could be, by rising to the top of the medal charts. Nervous fans chewed their nails and waited impatiently as Jen Heil (silver, moguls) and Kristina Groves (bronze, 3,000m long track speed skating) won medals, but not the precious one so greatly desired by an entire nation.
Almost any athlete will tell you that the proudest moment of their athletic career is when they are privileged to don the colours of their country in competition. To hear the roar of the crowd and be crowned Olympic champion must be one of the most truly moving athletic events in history. To do so on home soil... just ask Alexandre Bilodeau.
He wrote his name into the Canadian sports history books with the first Olympic gold medal to be awarded to a Canadian athlete in an Olympics hosted by Canada. On home soil. And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy.
Heroics
There are few sadder things than losing a relative, but to be on the verge of possibly the greatest moment of your career and lose the person closest to you must be devastating. Joannie Rochette, a medal hopeful in women’s figure skating from Canada, lost her mother to a sudden heart attack in Vancouver, just days before she was scheduled to compete. Determined to honour her mother’s memory and dedication to her career, Joannie continued to compete and with the support of her country and fellow athletes, won the bronze medal. She dedicated her gala skate to her mother, skating to one of her favourite songs by Celine Dion.
Sporting heroes are made every day during the Olympics; it isn’t difficult to find them. But Petra Majdic of Slovenia has to be one of the toughest competitors ever to wear anyone’s national colours. A short time after a horrendous fall during a training run in which she broke her poles, skis and it was later to be found, several ribs, Petra managed to compete in the qualification round of the women’s sprint event. No one could possibly question her strength or will to compete. Not only did she qualify, she went on through three more rounds to win the bronze medal.
Petra and Joannie: two terrifically strong women who struggled through personal trauma to attain Olympic bronze and win the hearts of fans everywhere, not only their respective countries. For their achievements and perseverance, they were named joint recipients of the Terry Fox Award - awarded to those athletes’ best representing the enduring spirit of Terry Fox.
In the realm of alpine skiing, Anja Paerson is a well-known name. After the women’s downhill and super combined, the Swedish skier was even more well-known for having crashed out spectacularly in the one event and recovered enough both mentally and physically to win the bronze medal in the next on the very next day. Nothing puts away the pain for a moment like an Olympic medal!
The great ups!
Special mention goes to Britain’s Amy Williams for not only providing her country’s first individual gold medal in 30 years, but for one of the most joyous expressions upon winning. In a relatively new sport like skeleton, it’s hard to gain worldwide recognition, but Olympic gold catapults you to the top pretty quickly. Jon Montgomery of Canada also showed that a gold medal goes a long way - fetching a pitcher of beer and a walk (impromptu parade) through Whistler.
We saw Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, whose name became a matter of confusion unto itself due to inane commentators; show the world the beauty that is figure skating. Her record-breaking scores were far and away the best of the competition and her fellow athletes could only watch in awe. No one was going to catch her for the gold at this Olympics. And maybe there was a tiny bit of gold for coach Brian Orser, who left many broken-hearted Canadians in his wake when he lost out to Brian Boitano the last time the Olympics were held in Canada.
Favoured Shaun White of the US absolutely owned the men’s half-pipe, while Torah Bright of Australia showed she had nothing to hide in the women’s. Gotta add Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic - for showing just the most utmost enjoyment of the event every time the camera pointed her way!
There was Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics. Competing in the slalom and giant slalom, he reached his goal of competing and not finishing last. A true feat considering his African homeland does not experience snow.
And of all those favoured to win medals, was there any athlete or team more burdened by its countries expectations than Canada men’s hockey team? No offense to the women, you too are strong in our hearts because you play the sport we call our own. But until there is more competition for the crown, the men’s event will rule the hearts and minds of our proud northern country. A land known for ice and snow, beavers, maple syrup, beer and... Hockey.
Before the Games had even begun, speculation had run rampant regarding the selection of the team. This fellow was left off, how could you forget so-and-so and why in the heck is ‘he’ on the team? After the ‘disgrace’ that was the Torino Olympics, the hockey team had better win gold or not bother coming back. Pretty harsh conditions considering the venue and the competition.
The team soldiered on, the ‘brain-trust’ of Stevie ‘Y’, Ken Hitchcock, Mike Babcock et al., trusting in their selections. Tough games against the ever sturdy Swiss, a dampening loss to the US, a revitalized look against Germany, a surprising blow-out win against the flashy Russians and a last-minute squeaker against Slovakia brought the team to where they wanted to be. The Canadians would face the USA in the final match with the gold medal on the line.
How they got there no longer mattered. After a few short hours, during which one of the most exciting hockey games of this generation was played, the final gold medal of the Games was awarded and the Canadian flag was raised to a thunderous ovation and rousing rendition of O’ Canada. What a way to end the Games - the hosts were delighted to find they had not only won the most gold medals of any host nation, they had won the most gold medals of any nation at the Winter Olympics.
Congratulations Canada, you got it right!
The Finnish men’s and women’s hockey teams. How could you not cheer on the dogged persistence of the men’s team - after being thoroughly spanked by Team USA and frequently told they didn’t have enough scoring punch and their goalies were worn out, they pulled out a thrilling win against upstart Slovakia for the bronze medal. Previous to that and perhaps inspirational to the men, Team Finland’s women’s team won a hard-fought match against rival Team Sweden in overtime after a pep talk from Finnish president Tarja Halonen. Noora Raty was named the star of the game as she was throughout most of the tournament for Team Finland.
Lindsay Vonn, media darling and alpine skier extraordinaire. Gold and bronze medallist and for some this still wasn’t enough. Stop the nit-picking media - that’s a pretty darn good haul!
Good friend Maria Riesch of Germany overcame a terrible fall in the downhill event to recover her composure and win both the super combined (Vonn did not finish) and the slalom events. A double golden smile!
Germany’s other skiing darling, 23 year-old Magdalena Neuner, won two golds and a silver in three different events of the ladies biathlon, only to be chastised in the media for deciding not to participate in the women’s relay. While affording her another chance of a medal and possibly gold for her country, she determined that she would not be ready for the event and stated that her team was good enough to win a medal without her, affording another teammate the opportunity to win an Olympic medal. Isn’t that what playing for the team means?
The strange, confusing and disappointing moments...
The Swedish men’s and women’s hockey teams. I don’t really know where to start because I never expected the men to bow out so quietly or the women’s team to so completely disintegrate from their successes at the Turin Games. Sweden is a proud hockey country as well. They’ll be back, looking to repair their reputation.
Another surprise came from the inconsistent play of the Russian men’s hockey team. A star-studded cast that seemed, at least on paper, to match the supposed power-house Canadian team - the Russians were oddly mismatched in passion. Against rival Czech Republic, Alexander Ovechkin threw one of his patented thundering open-ice checks against Czech star Jaromir Jagr. It demoralized the Czechs and instantly sparked a Russian goal. There was no such spark or energy coming from Ovechkin or any other Russian player in the semi-final. What was touted to be a very tough match became a fizzling blow out. If I was disappointed, so too was every Russian fan. Note to Ovie - you gotta bring it in Sochi.
While nobody would say so, the biggest surprise of the men’s hockey tournament was Team USA. Neither amongst themselves nor by those who had been playing against Ryan Miller of late, but Team USA was said to be one of the weaker entries due to their youth and inexperience. With that youth came the fire to be better than everyone said they were and they rode that enthusiasm and a very hot goaltender all the way to the gold medal final where one tiny slip cost them the game. For a team that wasn’t supposed to even challenge for a medal a few inches were all that was between them and the gold. Eat that prognosticators.
Thing is, those that had been seeing Ryan Miller on a regular basis (i.e. Leafs fans), would have said that of all the goalies in the world that Canada could come up against, he is the one we’d least like to see. Now everyone else knows what we know. He’s that good.
Mellisa Hollingsworth won a bronze medal in women’s skeleton in Turin. After successful World Cup seasons, she was back to win a medal in Canada, at home. Unfortunately, the sporting gods were not with Mellisa and she finished in 4th, just out of the medals. I will never forget a tearful interview that was broadcast with Mellisa stating that she felt so bad, that she felt like she’d let the whole country down. What a terrible feeling when you know that all that pressure that we, the public, are creating causes an athlete so much pain. Cheers Mellisa, we’re proud of you and all our competitors.
Sven Kramer came into the Olympics as a sort of speed skating god. In the Netherlands, speed skaters are regarded with the same awe as star hockey players are in Canada. And in the world of speed skating, Mr. Kramer is particularly good. Having won the gold medal in the 5,000m race, Sven was well on his way to winning the 10,000 m race and his second gold medal of the games in striking fashion when a startling miscue cost him any placing at all. He was disqualified for an illegal lane change on the last lap of the race, an unconscionable error by a veteran skater that a shocked Netherlands contingent could not comprehend. How could their hero have made such a mistake? Heeding the direction of his coach, he swapped lanes when he need not have and in doing so cost himself a gold medal and possibly an Olympic record.
Canada was not immune to such unseemly mistakes. Mike Douglas of the skeleton team was preparing for his 3rd heat when he was informed that he had been disqualified for not having his sled prepared and in place in the prescribed amount of time. Sitting in 7th place at the time, Douglas was upset that nothing was done to prevent this sort of occurrence. He went on to blame both the organization and his coaching staff.
Jeremy Wotherspoon, an incomparable force on the World Cup circuit for men’s long track speed skating for years, would come back after injuries to attempt to achieve the one accolade missing from his trophy case. In two previous Olympics, Wotherspoon has come in as the odds-on favourite to win gold. But the Games have not been kind to one of the sports’ greatest competitors and this Olympics, at home, were not to be any different. He did not fall, he just seemed to fade when usually he would have shown the power that has won him so many races previously, power that he was known for. Wotherspoon was not to win an Olympic gold.
When all was said and done, when the flag was handed over to the president of the Sochi Olympics and the torch extinguished, officially closing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, I could only remark that I wished it could have gone on forever. The feeling of patriotism that was shown across Canada was a remarkable thing to behold. The support for our athletes and those of other countries was superb (Team Slovakia’s women’s hockey team received a rousing cheer from the crowd after a whitewash loss against an overpowering Canada, Team Latvia and Team Norway received much the same on the men’s side). And despite all the ups and downs, joys and disappointments, isn’t this what the Olympics are all about? Competing hard and not regretting anything, just enjoying the moment. It’s a shame it was really so short.
And now for just a montage of pretty...
My personal fave - Monique Angermuller of Germany! Ashleigh McIvor of Canada
Heather Moyse & Kaillie Humphries of Canada Clara Hughes of Canada
Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic, Alena Leonova of Russia, Cheryl Bernard of Canada
Marianne St. Gelais and Sarah Vaillancourt of Canada
Magdalena Neuner of Germany, Annette Gerritsen & Laurine Van Riessen of the Netherlands
Lindsey Vonn and Elena Hight of the USA.
A little heavy on the Canadian content, but we have some pretty darn cute athletes!
And so concludes Sporty's Olympic Reports - hope you enjoyed them!
‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ - this is the motto of the Olympic Games. On the world stage, in front of millions of fans, casual viewers and spectacle watchers, generally far from home, Olympians strive towards these goals, with predictable results. Not just predictable in terms of the medals awarded or the placements achieved; but in the actual events occurring during those two short weeks.
In every Olympic competition, there are those who enter the fray favoured to win, those who are hoping to gain experience in preparation for future competitions and those simply planning to compete in the greatest international competition in the world.
For as with all sport, the only thing that is predictable is that sport is entirely unpredictable. That is why the games are played and why the competitors compete. Because anything can happen.
The days, even years, leading up to the quadrennial event are preparation for that one moment when an athlete or team can stand proudly atop the podium and hear the cheers of the world and their own national anthem. That time is filled with gruelling training, vast sacrifices, bitter disappointment, and incredible surprises and, in some cases, great debate regarding the qualification or selection for the Games. All these things culminate in an intensely competitive and highly nationalistic two-week event.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics provided many highlights and ‘low’-lights as well as enduring athleticism and happy faces. I know I have missed some memorable moments. These are the people and moments that captured my attention throughout the two weeks, leaving me with Games withdrawal in these weeks that followed.
The lowest point of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games occurred before the Games had even been officially opened. According to some, the Whistler Sliding Centre was ‘too fast’ and ‘too dangerous’. On this day, it claimed the life of a young Georgian luger who was taking a normal training run on the 1st day of the Games. The Olympic Games opened on a sombre note, honouring the memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili, 20 years-old.
The tragedy put into perspective the rampant speculation as to who was going to light the Olympic cauldron. With all the fanfare, a beautiful spectacle was slightly marred by the malfunction of the actual cauldron inside BC Place. But the opening was completed with a tour through the streets of Vancouver lead by Canada’s best-known athlete, Wayne Gretzky, who lit the main outdoor torch on the waterfront.
From the lowest moment to one of the highest.
A great fear for the host country of the Olympics is to come away empty-handed. This, the third time that Canada would host the Olympics, the team was determined to not only come away with gold, but show the world just how prominent Canadian athletes could be, by rising to the top of the medal charts. Nervous fans chewed their nails and waited impatiently as Jen Heil (silver, moguls) and Kristina Groves (bronze, 3,000m long track speed skating) won medals, but not the precious one so greatly desired by an entire nation.
Almost any athlete will tell you that the proudest moment of their athletic career is when they are privileged to don the colours of their country in competition. To hear the roar of the crowd and be crowned Olympic champion must be one of the most truly moving athletic events in history. To do so on home soil... just ask Alexandre Bilodeau.
He wrote his name into the Canadian sports history books with the first Olympic gold medal to be awarded to a Canadian athlete in an Olympics hosted by Canada. On home soil. And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy.
Heroics
There are few sadder things than losing a relative, but to be on the verge of possibly the greatest moment of your career and lose the person closest to you must be devastating. Joannie Rochette, a medal hopeful in women’s figure skating from Canada, lost her mother to a sudden heart attack in Vancouver, just days before she was scheduled to compete. Determined to honour her mother’s memory and dedication to her career, Joannie continued to compete and with the support of her country and fellow athletes, won the bronze medal. She dedicated her gala skate to her mother, skating to one of her favourite songs by Celine Dion.
Sporting heroes are made every day during the Olympics; it isn’t difficult to find them. But Petra Majdic of Slovenia has to be one of the toughest competitors ever to wear anyone’s national colours. A short time after a horrendous fall during a training run in which she broke her poles, skis and it was later to be found, several ribs, Petra managed to compete in the qualification round of the women’s sprint event. No one could possibly question her strength or will to compete. Not only did she qualify, she went on through three more rounds to win the bronze medal.
Petra and Joannie: two terrifically strong women who struggled through personal trauma to attain Olympic bronze and win the hearts of fans everywhere, not only their respective countries. For their achievements and perseverance, they were named joint recipients of the Terry Fox Award - awarded to those athletes’ best representing the enduring spirit of Terry Fox.
In the realm of alpine skiing, Anja Paerson is a well-known name. After the women’s downhill and super combined, the Swedish skier was even more well-known for having crashed out spectacularly in the one event and recovered enough both mentally and physically to win the bronze medal in the next on the very next day. Nothing puts away the pain for a moment like an Olympic medal!
The great ups!
Special mention goes to Britain’s Amy Williams for not only providing her country’s first individual gold medal in 30 years, but for one of the most joyous expressions upon winning. In a relatively new sport like skeleton, it’s hard to gain worldwide recognition, but Olympic gold catapults you to the top pretty quickly. Jon Montgomery of Canada also showed that a gold medal goes a long way - fetching a pitcher of beer and a walk (impromptu parade) through Whistler.
We saw Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, whose name became a matter of confusion unto itself due to inane commentators; show the world the beauty that is figure skating. Her record-breaking scores were far and away the best of the competition and her fellow athletes could only watch in awe. No one was going to catch her for the gold at this Olympics. And maybe there was a tiny bit of gold for coach Brian Orser, who left many broken-hearted Canadians in his wake when he lost out to Brian Boitano the last time the Olympics were held in Canada.
Favoured Shaun White of the US absolutely owned the men’s half-pipe, while Torah Bright of Australia showed she had nothing to hide in the women’s. Gotta add Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic - for showing just the most utmost enjoyment of the event every time the camera pointed her way!
There was Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics. Competing in the slalom and giant slalom, he reached his goal of competing and not finishing last. A true feat considering his African homeland does not experience snow.
And of all those favoured to win medals, was there any athlete or team more burdened by its countries expectations than Canada men’s hockey team? No offense to the women, you too are strong in our hearts because you play the sport we call our own. But until there is more competition for the crown, the men’s event will rule the hearts and minds of our proud northern country. A land known for ice and snow, beavers, maple syrup, beer and... Hockey.
Before the Games had even begun, speculation had run rampant regarding the selection of the team. This fellow was left off, how could you forget so-and-so and why in the heck is ‘he’ on the team? After the ‘disgrace’ that was the Torino Olympics, the hockey team had better win gold or not bother coming back. Pretty harsh conditions considering the venue and the competition.
The team soldiered on, the ‘brain-trust’ of Stevie ‘Y’, Ken Hitchcock, Mike Babcock et al., trusting in their selections. Tough games against the ever sturdy Swiss, a dampening loss to the US, a revitalized look against Germany, a surprising blow-out win against the flashy Russians and a last-minute squeaker against Slovakia brought the team to where they wanted to be. The Canadians would face the USA in the final match with the gold medal on the line.
How they got there no longer mattered. After a few short hours, during which one of the most exciting hockey games of this generation was played, the final gold medal of the Games was awarded and the Canadian flag was raised to a thunderous ovation and rousing rendition of O’ Canada. What a way to end the Games - the hosts were delighted to find they had not only won the most gold medals of any host nation, they had won the most gold medals of any nation at the Winter Olympics.
Congratulations Canada, you got it right!
The Finnish men’s and women’s hockey teams. How could you not cheer on the dogged persistence of the men’s team - after being thoroughly spanked by Team USA and frequently told they didn’t have enough scoring punch and their goalies were worn out, they pulled out a thrilling win against upstart Slovakia for the bronze medal. Previous to that and perhaps inspirational to the men, Team Finland’s women’s team won a hard-fought match against rival Team Sweden in overtime after a pep talk from Finnish president Tarja Halonen. Noora Raty was named the star of the game as she was throughout most of the tournament for Team Finland.
Lindsay Vonn, media darling and alpine skier extraordinaire. Gold and bronze medallist and for some this still wasn’t enough. Stop the nit-picking media - that’s a pretty darn good haul!
Good friend Maria Riesch of Germany overcame a terrible fall in the downhill event to recover her composure and win both the super combined (Vonn did not finish) and the slalom events. A double golden smile!
Germany’s other skiing darling, 23 year-old Magdalena Neuner, won two golds and a silver in three different events of the ladies biathlon, only to be chastised in the media for deciding not to participate in the women’s relay. While affording her another chance of a medal and possibly gold for her country, she determined that she would not be ready for the event and stated that her team was good enough to win a medal without her, affording another teammate the opportunity to win an Olympic medal. Isn’t that what playing for the team means?
The strange, confusing and disappointing moments...
The Swedish men’s and women’s hockey teams. I don’t really know where to start because I never expected the men to bow out so quietly or the women’s team to so completely disintegrate from their successes at the Turin Games. Sweden is a proud hockey country as well. They’ll be back, looking to repair their reputation.
Another surprise came from the inconsistent play of the Russian men’s hockey team. A star-studded cast that seemed, at least on paper, to match the supposed power-house Canadian team - the Russians were oddly mismatched in passion. Against rival Czech Republic, Alexander Ovechkin threw one of his patented thundering open-ice checks against Czech star Jaromir Jagr. It demoralized the Czechs and instantly sparked a Russian goal. There was no such spark or energy coming from Ovechkin or any other Russian player in the semi-final. What was touted to be a very tough match became a fizzling blow out. If I was disappointed, so too was every Russian fan. Note to Ovie - you gotta bring it in Sochi.
While nobody would say so, the biggest surprise of the men’s hockey tournament was Team USA. Neither amongst themselves nor by those who had been playing against Ryan Miller of late, but Team USA was said to be one of the weaker entries due to their youth and inexperience. With that youth came the fire to be better than everyone said they were and they rode that enthusiasm and a very hot goaltender all the way to the gold medal final where one tiny slip cost them the game. For a team that wasn’t supposed to even challenge for a medal a few inches were all that was between them and the gold. Eat that prognosticators.
Thing is, those that had been seeing Ryan Miller on a regular basis (i.e. Leafs fans), would have said that of all the goalies in the world that Canada could come up against, he is the one we’d least like to see. Now everyone else knows what we know. He’s that good.
Mellisa Hollingsworth won a bronze medal in women’s skeleton in Turin. After successful World Cup seasons, she was back to win a medal in Canada, at home. Unfortunately, the sporting gods were not with Mellisa and she finished in 4th, just out of the medals. I will never forget a tearful interview that was broadcast with Mellisa stating that she felt so bad, that she felt like she’d let the whole country down. What a terrible feeling when you know that all that pressure that we, the public, are creating causes an athlete so much pain. Cheers Mellisa, we’re proud of you and all our competitors.
Sven Kramer came into the Olympics as a sort of speed skating god. In the Netherlands, speed skaters are regarded with the same awe as star hockey players are in Canada. And in the world of speed skating, Mr. Kramer is particularly good. Having won the gold medal in the 5,000m race, Sven was well on his way to winning the 10,000 m race and his second gold medal of the games in striking fashion when a startling miscue cost him any placing at all. He was disqualified for an illegal lane change on the last lap of the race, an unconscionable error by a veteran skater that a shocked Netherlands contingent could not comprehend. How could their hero have made such a mistake? Heeding the direction of his coach, he swapped lanes when he need not have and in doing so cost himself a gold medal and possibly an Olympic record.
Canada was not immune to such unseemly mistakes. Mike Douglas of the skeleton team was preparing for his 3rd heat when he was informed that he had been disqualified for not having his sled prepared and in place in the prescribed amount of time. Sitting in 7th place at the time, Douglas was upset that nothing was done to prevent this sort of occurrence. He went on to blame both the organization and his coaching staff.
Jeremy Wotherspoon, an incomparable force on the World Cup circuit for men’s long track speed skating for years, would come back after injuries to attempt to achieve the one accolade missing from his trophy case. In two previous Olympics, Wotherspoon has come in as the odds-on favourite to win gold. But the Games have not been kind to one of the sports’ greatest competitors and this Olympics, at home, were not to be any different. He did not fall, he just seemed to fade when usually he would have shown the power that has won him so many races previously, power that he was known for. Wotherspoon was not to win an Olympic gold.
When all was said and done, when the flag was handed over to the president of the Sochi Olympics and the torch extinguished, officially closing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, I could only remark that I wished it could have gone on forever. The feeling of patriotism that was shown across Canada was a remarkable thing to behold. The support for our athletes and those of other countries was superb (Team Slovakia’s women’s hockey team received a rousing cheer from the crowd after a whitewash loss against an overpowering Canada, Team Latvia and Team Norway received much the same on the men’s side). And despite all the ups and downs, joys and disappointments, isn’t this what the Olympics are all about? Competing hard and not regretting anything, just enjoying the moment. It’s a shame it was really so short.
And now for just a montage of pretty...
My personal fave - Monique Angermuller of Germany! Ashleigh McIvor of Canada
Heather Moyse & Kaillie Humphries of Canada Clara Hughes of Canada
Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic, Alena Leonova of Russia, Cheryl Bernard of Canada
Marianne St. Gelais and Sarah Vaillancourt of Canada
Magdalena Neuner of Germany, Annette Gerritsen & Laurine Van Riessen of the Netherlands
Lindsey Vonn and Elena Hight of the USA.
A little heavy on the Canadian content, but we have some pretty darn cute athletes!
And so concludes Sporty's Olympic Reports - hope you enjoyed them!