February 28, 2010 (Vancouver, BC) – With only one day to go at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games,
Prior to Vancouer Canada’s best Winter Games performance was 24 medals – including seven golds – at the 2006 Turin Games, finishing third overall. Canada’s best Summer Games medal tally is 44 at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. A total of 82 countries are competing at the Vancouver Games and with 206 athletes Canada has the second largest contingent after the USA (215).
Much of this success can be attributed to the controversial “Own the Podium / À nous le podium” (OTP) program which brings together 13 Olympic sport federations, including Nordic skiing’s Biathlon Canada, Cross Country Canada, Nordic Combined Ski Canada, and Ski Jumping Canada. With a $118 million budget, OTP aimed to:
– Have Canada win gold on home soil for the first time at an Olympic Game
– Have Canada lead the medal count at the Vancouver Olympics
– Have Canada lead the medal count at the Vancouver Paralympics March 12-21
OTP has succeeded 13 times in its first objective, beginning with Alexandre Bilodeau winning gold in the men’s moguls event. None of Canada’s gold medals in Vancouver have been in any Nordic events.
Not everyone approves of the OTP program and some reports in the British press have been scathing. Ski runs in Vancouver were apparently designed by Canadian coaches in order to give Canadian athletes a “home turf advantage.” Some OTP programs are said to be top secret involving high tech gadgets that only Canadian athletes have access to. Others suggest that OTP conflicts with the Olympic ideal of sportsmanship and is un-Canadian – a recent headline in the Calgary Sun reads, “Americans Have Owned Our Podium.”