The flame of Torino has been extinguished, the flag passed on to its guardians in Vancouver. These games of the XX Olympiad of Torino have come to a colourful and pageant filled end. And for Canada it has been nothing but a stellar showing; with promise of much more to come on home turf in 2010.
Canada recorded a record haul of medals, taking 24 in total, the bulk of them earned by the women who by far shone the brightest at these games. No athlete shone brighter than speed skating sensation Cindy Klassen, who brought home a record five medals from these games, giving her legend status in Canadian Olympic sports. Dubbed woman of the games, one wonders how many young Canadians will be taking up speed skating with her inspirational performances.
And while we celebrate our achievements in the medals, we can truly look forward to even better days ahead. Canadians finished in fourth place thirteen times in these games, mere hundredths of a second separating many of them from a medal placing, just a wee bit down the list eight other Canadians tallied fifth place finishes. And on through the list, personal bests, top ten finishes, in short probably the best ever performance Canadians have ever had at an International sporting event.
Our success in Torino has resulted in our christening as a rising Olympic powerhouse, and you know it has kind of a nice ring to it don't you think?
Yes there were a few disappointments along the way, the mens hockey program for instance imploded upon itself in Torino, but when you look at the giant leap our Olympians made in these games, even the hockey loss doesn't seem to sting as much today as it did last week. In fact, disappointment this time, should be all the motivation that Canadian hockey needs next time to sweep both women's and mens hockey on home ice in Vancouver.
Now the Vancouver organizing committee will truly feel the task at hand. The flag is in their possession, the flame on the way and the world is planning it's trek to the mountains by the sea. Our athletes are holding up their end of the bargain, with the promise of much more to come.
The Prime Minister heaped some praise on his fellow citizens today, applauding the record breaking haul and spectacular performances along the way. It's probably one political statement that all Canadians will find favour with as we bring to an end of one chapter of the Olympic experience and begin another, one surely destined to be even bigger and better!
The countdown is on, until Vancouver welcomes the world. The stage will be ours and it would appear that we are ready to step out!
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