What's NOT helping the Canadian athletes is the deliberate raising of the bar by the Canadian Olympic Committee, requiring higher minimum levels of performance than the Internaional Olympic Committee standards.
from
this article (linked),
Quote:
It's the smallest contingent Canada has sent since the 1962 games in Munich. That's because Canada's Olympic Committee has set higher standards for athletes. In the past, athletes had to be ranked at least 16th in the world to go to the games. Now, it's 12th or better.
Athletes like boxer Benoit Gaudet, who didn't meet the new standard, are disappointed. "I have all my life for that, and when I found out the COC didn't want to send me, it was killing me, absolutely killing me," he said.
Gaudet appealed the decision and now he's back on the team. But for others, there's no such luck. Some of Canada's top athletes say the new rules are wrong.
"Canadian athletes are being discriminated against unfairly compared to other countries," said Canadian sprinter Nicholas Macrozanaris, who made the team.
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And, to my amusement, yesterday's CBC viewers' poll was this:
Quote:
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What draws your interest to Olympic competition?
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Responses:
Quote:
strong field of competition 56%
potential for underdog victory 32%
performance by a legend 12%
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My opinion: good thing you're not watching it for Canadian underdogs. They're all watching from home, too. :P
edit: for more cbc polls, check
here.
edit also:
# Country (gold, silver, bronze, Total)
1 United States 21 22 15 58
2 China 22 15 11 48
3 Russia 6 14 17 37
...
17 Sweden 3 0 1 4
17 Turkey 3 0 1 4
17 Thailand 2 0 2 4
17 Canada 1 2 1 4
17 Indonesia 1 1 2 4
17 South Africa 1 1 2 4
17 North Korea 0 3 1 4
17 Croatia 0 2 2 4