Le Sommet Des Ventrus   30 mars 2006

Canada: Olympic powerhouse? (2006-Feb-27)          CBC Sports : The Canadian Olympic Committee raised eyebrows when it boldly proclaimed a top-three finish and a minimum 25 medals at Turin. The concern was that it set the bar too high and raised unrealistic expectations. "The 2006 Olympic Winter Games have been a great success for Canada," COC president Mike Chambers said Sunday. "We set an aggressive goal of a top-three finish at these Games and we will leave Turin having achieved that goal."          Canada won 24 medals - seven gold, 10 silver, seven bronze - to shatter the previous record of 17 set at Salt Lake City in 2002. Only Germany (29) and the United States (25) had more in Turin, but 13 Canadians posted fourth-place finishes with eight others coming fifth. For the first time in a long time, Americans feel Canadians breathing down their necks. A Sunday headline on the ABC News website noted: "Canada is emerging as an Olympic powerhouse." "All of Canada's athletes turned in an exceptional performance at these Games and they've made all Canadians proud," Chambers said. Canada would have reached its goal of 25 medals had:

Cindy Klassen set a Canadian record by winning five medals in a single Olympics. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

         - Short-track speed skater Eric Bedard not been denied by 4-1,000ths of a second in the men's 500.
         - Skier Kelly VanderBeek not finished 3-100ths behind the bronze medallist in the women's super-G.
         - Francois Bourque not missed the podium by 76-100ths in the men's giant slalom.
         - Pierre Lueders not lost out on a medal by 9-100ths of a second in four-man bobsleigh.
         - Canada's men's hockey team won even a bronze medal.
         A break here, a blink of an eye there - woulda, coulda, shoulda. Truth be told, Canada's emphasis on elite athletics paid off handsomely at Turin, thanks in large part to a five-year, $110-million initiative introduced in January 2005. "The new program of the Canadian Olympic Committee 'Own the Podium,' which is supported on one hand by the government, but on the other hand the corporate world, has yielded already unbelievable results," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.
         Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen achieved unprecedented results, capturing five medals to give her six overall, both Canadian records. It also marked the highest total by a female speed skater, surpassing the four gold medals won by Lidiya Skoblikova of Russia at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games. "To see Cindy Klassen win five medals, she was definitely the woman of the Games," Rogge said. "Led by Cindy...(these) Games have been a huge step forward for high-performance sport in our country," said Canada's chef de mission Shane Pearsall.
         Eighteen years ago, Canada held high hopes heading into Calgary, only to suffer the indignity of failing to win a single gold medal - a rarity for a host nation. But a shift in attitude and focus by the COC, namely a commitment to win medals, and the inclusion of extreme sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboard in the Olympics, is reaping positive results. According to COC executive Alex Gardiner: "It is clear that several of our high-performance initiatives have had a direct and positive effect on Canada's athletes. Not only did we achieve our goal of a top-three finish, but we also increased our medal total and had a significant number of top-eight finishes by athletes who have their best years ahead of them."
         "You know how much the IOC believes in the success of the home team," Rogge related. "You (Canadians) have a record number of medals - far bigger than at the last Olympic Games - and what is more important, you have a young generation. "You have really the stars of tomorrow who have not yet got gold, but are very close to it. I think this is very promising." The Vancouver Olympics will be the first in Canada since 1988, when Calgary hosted the Winter Games. Valentino Castellini, chairman of the Turin organizing committee, said it would be wise for British Columbia to reflect what distinguishes Canada from the rest of the world. "Be Canadian," Castellini suggested. "Give a strong identity of your country to the Games and look at the details. There are a lot of details in Games time that determine the quality. From what I know, Vancouver, the mountains and the sea together, will give a strong identity of your Canadian Games."
         [With files from CP Online]

Cambodian Somaly Mam carried Olympic flag (2006-Feb-11)
         FOXNEWS.COM : TORINO, Italy — Mix in some song, dance and a squealing Ferrari, and cap it off with some opera. That's amore — for the Torino Olympics. It was a mutual love affair between the Italian hosts — known for their flair for the dramatic — and their visitors from around the world at Friday's opening ceremony. (...) For the first time, eight women carried the Olympic flag: Italian actress Sophia Loren, Chilean writer Isabel Allende, American actress Susan Sarandon, Nobel Peace-prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya, and three Olympic medal winners. They were Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco, Manuela Di Centa of Italy, and Maria Mutola of Mozambique. The eighth was Cambodian human rights activist Somaly Mam.
         Behind the scenes, 6,100 volunteers helped stage the event, for which they had practiced an estimated 10,000 hours. Cost of both the opening and closing ceremonies: $34 million.

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