30 Jul

Canada Earns First And Only Medal So Far

Posted in News on 30.07.12 by John Meloche

It’s Day 3 of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and thankfully, we are able to say that Canada is already on the medal board! Perhaps, winning one medal in the three days since the Olympics started shouldn’t be seen as that much of a big deal. After all, China and the United States are currently tied for the lead with 17 medals a piece.

As The National Post pointed out this past weekend, it took Canada an entire week to get its first medal four years ago when the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing. In 2012, we have synchronized divers, Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel to thank for getting Canada a bronze medal in the women’s three-metre synchronized event that took place yesterday.

Canadian Olympic Committee president, Marcel Aubut is especially happy about the bronze medal capture and the early end to a Canadian medal drought. “It’s great, absolutely great,” he said, “Inside of all of us, as soon as something would be done, (we knew) we’d be happy about it — people could continue to really focus on the performance without that additional pressure.”

Not everyone is all that excited about Canada’s lone medal in these Summer Games, however. “It’s kind of sad that we are celebrating this way,” commented a friend of Synergy’s this morning, “When you think about it, we’re really celebrating mediocrity. Canada is a much better nation than that. One medal? We should be pushing for many more.”

According to The National Post, we are. Canada, apparently, is aiming to finish in the top 12 on the medal table when the Olympics are all said and done. In Beijing, we ended up with 18 medals, which was good for a tie for 14th overall. For some people, achieving this feat will require a different attitude.

“I will always cheer for Canada,” said our friend, “but the truth is, too many Canadian athletes have this ‘happy to be here’ attitude over a ‘here to win’ attitude. Yesterday Clara Hughes came 32nd in her bike race and happily called the experience ‘phenomenal’ in her post-race interview. She’s won many medals in the past, I expect her to be more competitive.”

Hurdler Angela Whyte would likely contend that Canadian athletes are as competitive as anyone else. “We don’t need any extra negativity around us,” she told a reporter in London, “Because the honest truth is a lot of the athletes are so dedicated to their sports. They are the hardest people on themselves. We don’t need anybody else to do it for us.”

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