Canada at the Winter Olympics

Canada (IOC country code CAN) has competed at every Winter Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal each time. The country's greatest performance was recently at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy where Canadian athletes won 24 medals.

Canada has hosted the winter games once, in Calgary in 1988, and will also host the winter games of 2010 in Vancouver. Canada has also hosted the Summer Olympic Games once, in 1976 in Montreal.

Medal tables

Medals by Winter Games

Biathlon

Canada's only medals in biathlon were won by Myriam Bedard in the Albertville and Lillehammer games.

Curling

Curling is one of the most popular sports in Canada, and both the men's and women's teams have won a medal at each of the three Olympics curling has been held at so far. Canadian curlers also finished in the top 3 places when curling was a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992. The women's team in 1998, lead by skip Sandra Schmirler and the men's team in 2006, led by skip Brad Gushue, have both won gold medals.

Canadian skiers also finished in the top 3 positions in aerials at the 1988 and 1992 games, when it was a demonstration sport.

Ice hockey

Hockey is Canada's national winter sport, and Canadians are extremely passionate about the game. The nation has traditionally done very well at the Olympic games, winning 6 of the first 7 gold medals. However, by 1956 its amateur club teams and national teams could not compete with the teams of government-supported players from the Soviet Union. When Canada's best players (from the National Hockey League) were able to compete starting in 1998, expectations were high for the country's return to glory, but the Czech Republic won gold and the team fell to Finland in the bronze medal game. Canada finally won its first hockey gold in 50 years in Salt Lake City in 2002, sparking national celebrations. The women's team also won gold in 2002, after winning only silver in the first women's Olympic competition in Nagano. The women repeated as champions in 2006.

ki jumping

Canada has never won an Olympic medal in ski jumping.

nowboarding

Ross Rebagliati won a gold medal in snowboarding when the sport made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano games. Initially he was stripped of the medal when traces of marijuana were found in his blood during a drug test, but the IOC reversed its decision a few days later because marijuana was not a banned substance.

peed skating

Gaetan Boucher (1000 m and 1500 m in 1984), Catriona LeMay Doan (500 m in 1998 and 2002), Cindy Klassen (1500 m in 2006) and Clara Hughes (5000 m in 2006) are Canada's gold medalists in speed skating. In 2006, Cindy Klassen became the first Canadian to ever win five medals in one winter games, winning one gold (1500 m), two silver (Team Pursuit and 1000 m) and two bronze medals (3000 m and 5000 m). She also won a bronze medal in the 2002 games, giving her 6 medals, surpassing short track speed skater Marc Gagnon for the title of most decorated Canadian Winter Olympian. Clara Hughes also has 5 medals, having won 2 bronze medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics, one in 2002 Winter Olympics (making her the first Canadian to have won a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics) and two in 2006, making her one of only four Canadians to win five or more medals.

External links

* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-41-328/sports/olympics_winter_1948_1968/ CBC Digital Archives - Gold Medal Athletes - 1948-1968]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-41-1374/sports/olympics_winter_1984_2002/ CBC Digital Archives - Cold Gold: Canada's Winter Winners 1984–2002]