Near Misses and Memorable Moments

As we pass the halfway point of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Canada has yet to secure a gold medal, their deepest drought since Calgary 1988. However, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) remains confident, with COC CEO David Shoemaker expressing, “We’ll see our gold medals, they’ll come, and our team’s poised and ready.”

Close Calls

• Moguls skier Mikael Kingsbury settled for silver after his 83.71 score tied with Australia’s Cooper Woods, but lost due to lower turn marks.
• In snowboard cross, Eliot Grondin finished second by just three-hundredths of a second behind Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle.

Medal Moments

To see their emotion, a standing ovation, the emotion of Canadians all around, I don’t think I’ll soon forget the thrill I got from seeing them realize a dream.— David Shoemaker, COC CEO

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier dazzled with their bronze in figure skating, having overcome Gilles’ ovarian cancer diagnosis since the Beijing Olympics. Courtney Sarault became Canada’s first multi-medalist with bronze in women’s 500m short track speedskating, following a silver in the mixed relay. At 35, speedskater Valerie Maltais won her first individual long-track medal with bronze in the women’s 3000m.

Team Canada’s Performance

The women’s hockey team reached the semifinals, while the men’s team opened with two wins. The men’s curling team started 3-1 under skip Brad Jacobs. Ice dance, short track, and speedskating teams have secured medals or podium spots, with more events like dual moguls, ski cross, and freestyle skiing on the horizon.

Challenges and Setbacks

World No. 1 short-track speedskater William Dandjinou placed fourth in the men’s 1000m and fifth in the 1500m. The women’s curling team, skipped by Rachel Homan, started 1-3. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin missed two games with a knee injury in women’s hockey, and decorated snowboarder Mark McMorris was injured and sat out big air.

Olympic Notes

The women’s hockey opener was postponed due to norovirus, and the men’s curling team was warned about salty language.

Looking Ahead

With the back half of competition featuring hockey and curling playoffs, medal opportunities await in short track, moguls, ski cross, and freestyle skiing. Canada’s relay teams in men’s short track and women’s speedskating also vie for gold. Shoemaker emphasizes, “There’s lots of potential still within this team. Lots of great opportunities, lots of medal moments to come.”