It makes you proud to be Canadian…

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 10:49

We are now in the lull of the storm. The Olympic Games wrapped up leaving two weeks until the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. If you are living in one of the other three Canadian time zones it’s just enough time to catch up on some sleep.

The last three weeks of the Olympic Games were amazing, fantastic, exciting, unforgettable…the list goes on. There were 2500 athletes from 82 competing countries and Canada owned the podium. Not only did we break medal records with 14 gold medals, the most of any host country – ever - but we broke records with spectator involvement. The whole country seemed to be on the edge of their seats during the gold medal men’s hockey game on Sunday. It was a shining example of national pride when we won the gold and of the impact sport can have on a nation.

Some stats from the 2010 Vancouver Games:
- 14 Gold medals for Canada
- The most gold medals to be won by a host country in the summer and winter Games.
- 3 million red mittens sold
- 50 years since Canada beat Russia in the Olympic Games
- 206 athletes competed from Canada
- 86 of the 206 Canadian athletes received a medal

Canada surprised other counties with our enthusiasm and competitiveness. An abundance of news coverage discussed Own the Podium in the last three weeks and our desire to be the best we can be. We are still the country of politeness and modesty but we like our winter sports and we don’t mind showing it at home.