No Medals Needed
“Sports are very misunderstood in this country and it’s frustrating to hear all the hypotheses of the hows and whys we didn’t receive very many medals. Yes, you get what you pay for, and that holds true in sport. And yes, the bureaucracy behind most of our national sports organizations have archaic systems in place that tend to hinder the athletes rather than advance them into Olympic glory.
But what really bothers me is that people seem to forget that even with those hurdles (no pun intended), our athletes are still competing at unimaginable athletic levels. Some of them are in the top echelon in the world, usually by their own drive and resources. The difference between 3rd and 4th and 15th is often a few hundredths of a second, or a slightly different mental state that can come from a variety of things (including support). Canadians take on the challenge of becoming a world class athlete knowing that they will have to do it mainly on their own and with support coming largely from their community.”