At an Olympics where Canadians exceeded all expectations, setting records by winning 14 gold medals, it is hard to count the moments we will remember forever. The streets of Vancouver were not the only ones filled with emotion and pride. It could be felt all over the country: Ile Dupas, Quebec; Ilderton, Ontario; Russell, Manitoba; and Fernie, British Columbia—places we didn’t even know existed until these Olympic Games. Here’s to the athletes that made us aware, and more than proud to be Canadians.
10
Clara Hughes
Hughes was deservedly Canada’s flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. She has decided to retire from speed skating at the age of 37. After a successful cycling career in the Summer Olympics, she returned to speed skating and nobody thought she would be so successful. Her last Olympics included a Richmond Oval record of 6:55.73 and with this record shaved more than 11 seconds off the previous leader’s time in the 5000- metre race. She finished with a bronze medal.
9
Women’s 3000-metre relay
Tania Vicent, Marianne St-Gelais, Jessica Gregg, and Kalyna Roberge won silver after the first-place Koreans made costly mistakes and were disqualified for contact violations. The head referee reviewed and disqualified the once jubilant Koreans who thought they just captured the gold. This bumped the Chinese to gold, Canadians to silver, and the Americans, who looked like they dropped out of the race early, to bronze.
8
Jasey Jay Anderson
In the men’s giant slalom snowboard event Anderson captured gold in his last Olympics. At 35, he had already won every title in the sport except for an Olympic medal. This was his fourth and final Olympics, where he performed in front of his young daughters, which made it even sweeter. Gold to cap off his career couldn’t have been more of a dream.
7
Women’s two-man bobsleigh
Kaillie Humphries and U of T alum and former Varsity Blues rugby player Heather Moyse captured gold in women’s bobsleigh. Helen Upperton and U of T Track Club alum Shelley-Ann Brown took the silver. In a sport usually known for the four-man bobsled, these Canadian women put this event on the map. This was one of the few double-medal performances by Canada.
6
Charles Hamelin
After disappointing performances early on, speed skater Hamelin wasn’t expected to receive a medal. Not even qualifying for a race, and finishing fifth in another, he was eager to prove the world wrong. He wanted gold, didn’t know how he would get it, but ended up winning gold in the 500-metre event and in the 5000-metre relay.
5
Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue
They won gold after skating three of the most consistent performances in ice dancing. Partners in Ilderton, Ontario (just outside London), Moir was nine and Virtue was seven when they began skating together. Partnering for 13 years paid off as they earned a score six points higher than the silver medallists from the USA. It wasn’t just the point difference that made this moment special; they were the first North Americans to win gold in ice dancing.
4
Jon Montgomery
The charismatic skeleton racer jumped on top of the podium with both feet after beating out the competition by a full second. The gold in the sport is an accomplishment in itself, but his presence was another reason to admire his achievement. He had an answer for everything, and made his now famous walk through Whistler with a pitcher of beer in hand, belting out O Canada—what’s not to love?
3
Alexandre Bilodeau
Bilodeau entered the history books with an amazing performance in mogul skiing. Going up against the Canadian-born Dale Begg-Smith who was competing for Australia, it almost would have been torture to see Begg-Smith take first place. Bilodeau prevailed and will be remembered as the first man to capture gold for Canada on home soil.
2
Joannie Rochette
Dealing with the loss of her mother just days before her short program in women’s figure skating, Rochette courageously chose to perform. Going in she was considered Canada’s best shot at a medal, but even medalling without distraction would be difficult. She performed one of the most emotional skates anyone has seen and touched millions with her gift. She placed third after the short program and had to go up against herself again in the long program. She did it, and received the bronze medal just a few points behind Japan’s Mao Asada who took home the silver. It was an emotional roller coaster for Rochette and the rest of the world.
1
Men’s Hockey
It is considered the equalizer between Canada’s and the U.S.’s medal count. As long as Canada takes the gold medal in hockey, we don’t care how many medals the USA has won. The pressure was on early for this team and they knew anything but gold was unacceptable. A scary scene developed with eight minutes left in the third period of the gold medal game, which resulted in a tying goal for the USA with 23 seconds left. The game went into overtime and Canada’s goaltender Roberto Luongo looked like he was fighting the puck, and Sidney Crosby was yet to be seen. Just as fans hearts started to race faster, a goal from Sid the Kid won the gold for the Canadians, unexpectedly through the legs of powerhouse goalie Ryan Miller.
