O Canada,

The women continue to bring the house down. Canada won gold in women’s hockey. The game vs the USA was electric to the end and the cheers were thunderous as the Canadian women reclaimed their Olympic title.

While the Canadian anthem was playing in Vancouver tonight, it was also reverberating off the mountain walls in Whistler for the double medal ceremony for women’s bobsleigh where yesterday we won gold with the team of Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse and silver with Helen Upperton and brakeman Shelley-Ann Brown. It’s hard to describe the feelings you experience when you see your flag raised high above the others and hear the anthem echoing off the mountains. Surrounded by thousands of spectators from around the world you hear this soft rumble begin as the familiar lyrics to O Canada become audible. And then, ever so quickly, all the voices become a unified chorus as they sing out our national anthem loud and strong and you can’t help but feel overwhelmed as the singing and cheering reach their crescendo at the finale. Sport is such a wonderful vehicle to allow us to show our national pride, to unite us from coast to coast as we celebrate who we are and what we can achieve.

The Olympic Games brings the world together as we celebrate both athletic triumphs and the strength of human spirit. Tonight the world cheered as Joannie Rochette skated with determination and beauty as she completed her long freeskate. She demonstrated not only exceptional athletic ability in completing a technically and artistically challenging program but also the incredible strength of her inner will power to skate after experiencing personal tragedy earlier in the week. We are all part of a global sport community and regardless of the nationality; everyone wanted to see Joannie skate well. Congratulations Joannie, not only did you skate very well, you won the Olympic bronze medal!