In 1924, the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France. Canada went home with one medal: gold in Men’s ice hockey.
Every Winter Olympics since Canada has improved its medal count. At each Games athletes overcome adversity to add to a Canadian Olympic legacy that keeps getting better. In 2006 in Turin, Italy, Canada won 24 medals, the most ever by Canadians.
The stories that have been written by Canadian athletes for the last 86 years are some of the richest and inspiring to decorate the pages of Canadian sports history.
These are the moments that Canada’s Vancouver 2010 athletes are competing against to win a spot in Olympic history – and Canadian hearts.
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French-Canadian Marc Gagnon competed at Lillehammer 1994, and Nagano 1998; by the time he got to Salt Lake, he was preparing to retire.
The gold had escaped Gagnon in his personal races, although he did place first with the Canada’s relay team in Nagano.
In Salt Lake, he got his own. Gagnon captured gold in the Men’s 500 metre, as well as a bronze in the 1500-metre. He retired as one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians.
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Barbara Ann Scott became a Canadian heroine became she became the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating.
Europeans had long dominated the sport at the time Scott glided onto an ice surface that was torn-up by a hockey game that was played the night before. She maintained her concentration through her compulsory program as fighter planes flew overhead, going on to win the gold after excellent short and long programs.
Scott carried the Olympic torch in December 2009 to Parliament Hill, leading the way for Canada’s Vancouver 2010 athletes.
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Catriona Le May Doan was heartbroken at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, where she fell during her 500-metre race and placed 17th.
Le May Doan was chasing gold at redemption at Nagano. She got both. She brought home gold in the women’s 500-metre at Nagano and repeated the feat at Salt Lake City, in 2002.
Le May Doan retired with the nickname “the fastest woman on ice” and is now a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
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Beckie Scott is a three-time Olympian. She began her Olympic career in Nagano, in 1998, where she placed 45th in cross-country skiing.
In Salt Lake City, Scott won bronze in the five-kilometre pursuit. Two years later, she did even better: she was awarded the gold and silver medals after the two Russian skiers that placed first and second were disqualified for using performance enhancing drugs.
Scott was the first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.
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Chandra Crawford surprised the world when she sprinted to Olympic gold in Torino during the women’s cross-country sprint.
But it wasn't Crawford's skiing so much as her singing that endeared her to Canadians. The video of her singing O Canada on the medal podium became, for Canadians, the iconic image of the Torino Games.
Crawford will defend her Olympic title in Vancouver.
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Clara Hughes, it's safe to say, is a fine athlete. Hughes has competed in the Summer Games as a cyclist (winning two bronze medals) and the Winter as a speed skater.
In Torino, Hughes skated to the top of the podium in the 500-metre speed-skating event, after a long quest for gold. After winning Hughes triumphantly skated with a Canadian flag waving behind her.
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Cindy Klassen’s childhood dream was to win Olympic gold with Canada’s women’s hockey team.
Canadian women competed in hockey at Nagano for the first time in history. But Klassen was cut from the team. Instead she took up speed-skating and refocused her energy on Salt Lake City and the 2002 Games.
She won bronze in the 3000-metre skate at Salt Lake. In Torino Klassen owned the speed skating events, winning five medals: one gold (1500-metre), two silver (1000-metre and team pursuit) and two bronze (3000-metre and 5000-metre).
Klassen is now the most decorated Canadian Olympic in history.
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In 1998 Nagano became the first Winter Games to have Women’s Hockey as an event. Canada and the USA were both considered favourites.
That time around, Team USA beat the Canadians, 3-1, for the gold medal.
Four years later, in Salt Lake City, Team Canada was looking for redemption and their shot at a gold medal. The finals was their old nemesis, Team USA. This time, though, the result was different. Jayna Hefford scored the game winner with one second left in the second period, giving the Canadians a 3-2 win.
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Jamie Salé and David Pelletier won over the world during their free-skate program at the Salt Lake City Olympics. The Russian pair had faltered in their program, leaving room for Salé and Pelletier to steal the gold.
The two skated flawlessly. As the music ended the commentators were guaranteeing gold. The crowd was chanting, “Gold, Gold, Gold.” Pelletier sunk to his knees and kissed the ice. Salé’s eyes were tearing with joy.
It was a beautiful moment in Olympic history. But as the judges scores were read, “boos” echoed in the arena. The Russians had won. Canadian triumph turned to heartbreak.
The judging scandal that ensued changed the world of figure skating. New judging formats were introduced, with the goal of stemming corruption. Ultimately, Salé and Pelletier were awarded the gold medal, but what distinguished them in Salt Lake more than the eventual gold was their composure and class. [pagebreak]
For Canadians playing hockey in the Olympics, there is only one possible result: Gold. Anything else is a loss.
That's not to say it always happens. When NHL players were allowed to compete as Olympians, Canada put together an all-star teamto bring home gold. It didn't work: Canada lost in the Nagano semi-finals, after the all-star players and coaches seemed to clash in game decisions. In fact, the Canadians hadn't won the Olympic hockey gold for 50 years.
At Salt Lake, Team Canada had a country-sized expectation weighing on them. In the gold medal game, Canada faced off against the Americans, who had home-ice advantage.
With goals from Joe Sakic (2), Jarome Iginla (2), and Paul Kariya, Canada won the game 5-2, with largest audience in Olympic or NHL history watching.
Hilary Atkinson is a writer specializing in sports and culture. A hockey junkie, she likes to channel-surf between sports shows, while updating her blog and Twitter feed.
