More than medals: Lessons from Team Canada

George Le Gresley

Sports Correspondent

If you’re feeling disappointed in the Canadian men’s hockey team, don’t be. Aside from a slow start off the draw in the gold medal game, they outplayed and outshot their American rivals, delivering all the drama, momentum swings and intensity you’d expect in a championship showdown.

It also brings to mind the historic Canada–Russia series years ago. Kids, that’s one for the history section at the library, and how profoundly that rivalry reshaped the game in Canada.

This Olympic showdown must make you wonder how the Americans, who have two-thirds of Canada's minor hockey playing population, are beginning to match or outplay us. Is it the proportion of players’ game/practice time? Food for thought!

Our Canadian short-track teams did really well this year. Why isn’t this sport popular across the country? My guess is a lack of ice time and coaching.

Then there is the X-Games style of sports, where you find Nascar-style racing down a snow course, or all styles of speed skating, where you‘ll see lead changes, wipeouts, and drama in all their heats.

Finally, for retirees, these Olympics have been bad for our health, as they are aired in the morning and afternoon, leading us to ignore our health and exercise regimens by sitting in front of our televisions!

Canada delivered a strong and steady performance across the Games, finishing with an impressive medal haul highlighted by four gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals. Gold medal performances came from some of the country’s most dominant athletes, including Mikael Kingsbury in dual moguls, Megan Oldham in women’s big air, Steven Dubois in the men’s 500m short track, and Canada’s men’s curling team. Each gold showcased Canada’s depth in freestyle skiing, short track speed skating and curling — sports where the country continues to set the global standard.

Silver medals were spread across a wide range of disciplines, from ice dance and moguls to snowboard cross, short track and team pursuits. Canada’s women’s hockey team also added a silver, while both the men’s and women’s curling teams reached the podium. Bronze medals further demonstrated the team’s versatility, coming in speed skating, ski slopestyle, halfpipe, short track relay events and figure skating’s team competition. Overall, Canada showed remarkable consistency, earning medals in nearly every winter discipline and proving once again that it remains one of the world’s premier winter sport nations.

While many athletes who made the trip to Italy didn’t reach the podium, most achieved personal bests and will continue train with the hopes of improving their performance four years from now. We should be proud of these athletes - not just for the medals, but for the discipline, resilience and teamwork they demonstrate on the world stage. Their commitment to excellence is something we can all carry into our own daily lives, whatever our arena may be.

And the journey isn’t over. The countdown now turns to the 2028 Summer Olympics, where a new chapter of Canadian stories will unfold. If this performance is any indication, there will be plenty more moments to cheer about.