At this time last week, Canada stood near the bottom of the medal standings at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, with zero medals.
Countries like Togo, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago and Tajikistan all had medals - countries, with all due respect, that have small athletic teams and a lack of funding, quality coaches and quality training facilities - things that Canada supposedly has more of and you would think would allow us to have a more competitive edge.
Many of us were pushing the panic button as the days on the calendar continued to count down and the chances of Canada jumping on the medal podium grew slim. But then last Saturday our athletes broke through the door, earning three medals, and the momentum continued the following couple of days. All of a sudden, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Canada had 13 medals by Tuesday - one more than we achieved in Athens four years ago. The prospect of several more medals was high, and by the time you read this, Canada's total could be 20 or beyond - far surpassing the expectations of the Canadian Olympic Committee that predicted a top 16 showing at these Games.
While we should be proud of our athletes and what they have accomplished during these Games, we should not forget how we as a country felt during week one as our athletes failed to achieve their medal expectations.
In order for Canada to continue its climb up the medal standings in future summer and winter games, our athletes need more support.
Canada started the "Road to Excellence" program to help Canada be successful at these Games and hopefully to crack the top 12 in 2012 in London. The program will have $20 million to work with in 2008/09, $28 million the following year and $36 million for each of the two years heading into 2012. But there is a catch to this financial windfall for our athletes - you have to get the results to get the money. That's a bit backwards don't you think?
Shouldn't our governments, both federal and provincial, be supporting our athletes with funding, the best coaches, facilities and equipment possible to ensure a gold medal performance at the Olympics rather than handing out the cash later if they perform at a high level? The road to Olympic success is a long and hard one for all athletes. It requires immense sacrifices, especially financially. Our government leaders and corporate sponsors need to start thinking about our athletes now and what they need to be successful before the Olympics, not during and after the closing ceremonies have ended and the flame has been extinguished.
