Day 24: "He Scooooooooooooooores!!!!"

It is late and the last day has been so crazy, I don't know where to start.

I could just talk about the hockey game but let's wait.

Last night was pretty fun with expected and unexpected things happening. I was at Canada Olympic House. An area dedicated to Canadian athletes, their families, friends and sponsors and so on. There was a Snowboard Canada get together event and someone nicely put me on the list so I could get in. It was fun hanging out with the snowboarders who have been pretty successful at these games. Especially with JJ Anderson starting 0.76 seconds later than his opponent, got a great line and passed him to get the gold medal. That was not much later than the men's speed skaters taking the US in the final and beating them by 0.2 seconds to get a gold medal and our men on the curling rink getting a gold as well. 3 Gold medals within hours. The place was revving with positive energy. All these guys showed up at Canada House after all their media obligations were done. OUr curling skip had no more voice and needed a good beer to get the evening to start winding down.

When we left , we noticed a large gathering on a street corned right in downtown. The people were jumping and chanting "Go Canada Go", they were dancing and basically having the best of time. There was a lot of music appearing to come from coordinated "boomboxes". A signs

held by a dancing person mentioned some website. It appears it's a spontaneous type group that starts a street party. These days in Vancouver, it's not hard to start people going. It was infectious! People were singing and having a great time with a few classic tunes: Sweet Caroline, YMCA, etc.

There was not much on anyone's mind other than HOCKEY today. They guys looked relaxed for breakfast. Most places in the country were likely planning full bars and restaurant and no other type of work would get done. I managed to get myself in the Game. We were worried at some point as, in many of these Games / events I have been involved with, rules that mkae no sense seem to appear at ridiculous moments. Were were told that the only people allowed where we were sitting, what had been called the "Athletes Seats" for 2 and a half weeks, were now only for "Hockey team members". It took a while to sort out but we kept our seats and enjoyed the loudest event produced without microphones or amplifiers. We'll see replays of that goal for quite some time. I wonder if someone in the middle of an isolated field anywhere in our country would have heard all the Canadians scream and cheer at the score moment as the "cheer" would have been at the exact time from the Yukon to Newfoundland. I have no writing skills to describe the euphoria. It was absolutely unique and will likely not be reproduced in our time. It was the story book finish to the Canadian Olympic Games.

We then rushed over to get ready for Closing Ceremonies.As opposed to the Opening event, we all got to march in. What a blast. You all got to see our warm clothing made of thick wool! Everyone was happy. We felt that these Games were a success. Third in ranking when we look at the numbers of medals won, but first in number of Gold medals. The Olympic winner is deemed to be the country with the most "wins" or the most Golds. We therefore won. Canada had entered these GAmes as the only country to have hosted the Games , twice, and not won Gold. We finished these Games establishing a new record in the MOST Gold medals won by a host country: 14!! What an achievement. The highlight reel of these Games is endless. The emotional highs and lows have unified our country as sports seem to always do.

Marching in the Closing Ceremonies is not as organized and we see so much intermingling of different sports and countries together. Afterwards, we get back to the Village where the COC has a get together of its own and we hang out, enjoy the ever classic: pizza and beer. Hockey players, curlers,skaters, bobsledders and skiers all hanging out and enjoying the memories that are permanent. Everyone from home asks: did you see the NHL players? Afte their win and celebration in the dressing room, most had to leave. They had already checked out of the Village and most moved their stuff to the Host hotel , Westin near Stanley Parc, and were flying out that evening. Some had to be withtheir NHL team today. Only Scott Nedermeyer came to Closing Ceremonies. He was the captain and played his role. He's a genuine nice guy who didn't hesitate to be with the crowd and marching with us and ot playing the habitual pseudo-separation that we see with the NHL players. They are partof the team as Olympians but cannot shake their tag as Professional athletes and popular icons. I heard that most were pretty happy being part of the gang in the athletes lounge on our 12th floor "Penthouse" area. Imaging playing NHL hockey video games with your favorie hockey stars. These will be fine memoriesfor the amateur athletes composing our Olympic team.

A great Olympic Game.

Have a Great Day. This will be my last post as I'm packing up the clinic tomorrow and we're heading home on Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing all my family soon. Unfortunately, even if I attempt to describe or write about these experiences, it is never possible to fully understand "living" the experience. I have been fortunate to have been selected as a physician on Canada's Olympic Team. I hope you have enjoyed sharing it with me.

Richard

Day 23 (I think): Concept of "We"

These blogs are being written later all the time. I think I missed a day.

What an awesome day it was yesterday! Our men's team was able to resurrect what was becoming somewhat of a disappointing short track Olympic when compared to past Games. Charles Hamelin skated an impressive 500 m final, had a near wipe out slide at the finish and struck Gold. The crowd cheered so loud we couldn't hear the bell for the last lap. His girlfriend, Marianne St-Gelais who skated for silver earlier last week, was caught on CTV's broadcast during the whole race. Her enthusiasm was almost more entertaining than Charles Race. Francois-Louis Tremblay get a bronze in the same race. Even if these 2 skaters raced the sprint version of short track 3 times that evening ( quarter, semi and finals) they had to lace them up again as part of the men's biggest challenge of these Games: the 5000 relay. This is the last event and the most anticipated. It is wil, chaotic and has 4 teams of 4 skaters flying around for 45 laps. They exchange at each 1.5 laps by a push that has to be coordinated so the first skater exchanges towards the outside and the others continue as they finish with the last team ( as determined by who's in front and back of the line of skaters going around) exchanging inside. It is always dynamic as skaters start getting speed in the inner circle to be at the right place at the right time. Any mistake can lead to a fall, a delay which makes them unable to catch up and possible disqualification. This evening was even more impressive as France got "advanced" in the finals as someone had interfered with them during a qualification race. 5 teams of 4 skaters. The ice in the turns will look like chopped up railroad tracks by the end.

Canada lead most of the race to an ever increasing volume of cheering from the crowd. They utilized a secret weapon: they exchanged one turn ( I forget which one) at 2 turns instead of the habitual 1.5. They were therefore able to get ahead of other teams caught in exchanges and were able to save a little energy for the last skater: the ever important finisher. Charles almost fell with 2 laps to go and I thought the crowd was going to faint en masse. He caught himself and never lost the lead: they won Gold. A crazy atmosphere blasted off. 2 Gold medals in the evening. A great finish by the ever smiling Charles...unless of course you see his look at the head of the line while skating. Make no mistake, he is all business!

The whole country likely got interested in curling. The women were fighting for Gold and what would become a sad finish for the team, were not able to capitulate in the 10th end. This lead to the 11th end with Canada having the last throw: the hammer ( one thing about these Games is we're all getting familiar with each sport's technical jargon). Again, what would appear to be a routine placement fit for Canada to jump on the Gold ended up in disappointment with a very minor miss. Sweden repeats as Gold medalist having won in Torino. One should be quite proud to have won the Silver medal but there is still a disappointment when one realizes they had all the controllable options to get the Gold medal.

The men are on for their shot at a Gold medal this afternoon.

Our men's hockey team advances to the Gold medal game which basically means most of Canada will stop functioning on Sunday for the duration of the game. This is one event I will try very hard to infiltrate!

Now, about the concept of "we". I have had a lot of experience being part of the health care team for Canada at major Games. At all these Games we are support staff and help the team in all it's health care functions. Many other members of the Mission staff also help the athletes and their teams with all their needs when in the Village. We are not on the filed, the ice or the hill to compete but what happens all the time is a gradual use of the term "we". It is the same in many people who are at home watching these Games. They do it in other countries as well as it is evident in conversations we have. How many of you have said it I'm sure. When Cheryl threw her last rock at the curling match, most here were saying "We lost the Gold." When Canada won against the Slovakian team in hockey, most said "We've won, we're going to the final", "We 're going for Gold". The concept of "we". Sports achieves what many other elements of our lives cannot: it unites everyone. People become "we" instead of "us and them". It's a great feeling to feels that everyone is behind a team. I have heard many excited, cheering people who were jumping up for joy when our curling teams would make impressive shots. A common statement from those same people: "I don't even like curling!!!". It's because it's a sport, we feel connected with the participants and we live the excitement with them.

Tomorrow, everyone will want to say: "WE won the gold!"

Day 22: Canada:2 USA:0

I guess I'm biased as I have no idea how many Americans may be reading this blog. I just have to join every Canadian and rejoice in the Canadian women's third consecutive Gold medal at hockey. What a night it was. We have ridden the roller coaster. The last few days have been more of an upswing. I was at the game.....and so was everyone else it seems. Prime Minister Harper was in the seat section beside us. As were Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Donald Sutherland and a camera showed Michael J. Fox enjoying the game. The jumbotron also showed the men's hockey team in attendance...I think they wanted to get some inspiration. What a night it was, Gold for the ladies and the crowd was energetic and the elation was infectious.

I managed to rush to the PNE, site for figure skating, and see Joannie Rochette skate her long program. The crowd was highly involved on every skater's performance. The Japanese, the Korean (especially !!), the Americans and of course EVERYONE was up to support and cheer for Joannie. I'm sure her mother was there as well. SHe had a great performance skating in the penultimate position. She scored enough to be in third and the American skater finishing the evening did not manage to beat Joannie in the overall standing even with a flawless performance. Joannie got a bronze medal. What an emotional night!!

Just when you think it's all finished, we have the men;s hockey tomorrow and the biggest evening of short track. You do not want to miss this evening with the men's 500 m and 5000 m finals and the women's 1000 m finals.

Things are settling down and we're seeing more athletes enjoying the games. They are cheering for their fellow athletes and taking part in the "Olympic Experience". There is so much everywhere: parties, bars, pubs, fireworks, endless crowds cheering in the streets, concerts.....We're just hanging in the Village as it gets tiring trying to figure out where we can go, it's late...and we are up by 6:30-7 am.

Big day tomorrow but ....in 3 days the Torch goes out.

Day 21: Medal Haul....finally!

Where do I start?

I wonder how many of you were not in front of a tv somewhere watching the men's hockey game. I managed to get myself to it and got a seat to enjoy a stunning performance by our Canadians. They certainly looked like a team and had a great of motivation to get the job done. Even if television is a good medium to watch sports, you had to be there. The atmosphere was electric! My ears are still ringing from the loudness of passionate fans. I kept wanting to get a camera and walk around taking pictures of people everywhere. The colors, the painting, the signs and I think everyone was wearing something "Canada". Wonder how many jerseys with the new Canada maple leaf were sold ? They play Friday in semifinals. Tons of work to do but the morale is high.

The women are playing the gold medal game tomorrow against the USA. They have a good chance but nobody is clear on who's going to take that one. I might have to try and sneak into that one as well. I'll take the clinic shift all day to allow me to get some time to wander tomorrow evening.

How about those Bobsleigh ladies????? Gold and Silver. What a bad time to have that amazing performance...at the same time as the men's hockey game. You can see that hockey creates a large shadow inside which a lot of sports compete. In the era of technology, it's getting a little silly over here. While I'm sitting at the hockey game, I'm using my own smart phone to send PINs and emails to family back home about the excitement of the game, I'm receiving texts on my COC (Canadian Olympic Team has every Mission team member use a phone for communications) phone from a colleague covering the short track team and learning about our athletes going forward in the qualifications and the women picking up a Silver medal, and I am watching television ( you read it right!) on my COC phone with live coverage of the bobsleigh event on CTV.

Therefore within minutes I learn that we have a Silver at short track, a Gold and Silver (!!!!) at bobsleigh and we already had a Bronze from Clara Hughes in long track. A 4 medal day for Canada. Emotions are high and people are pretty pumped.

I finally got to see a Gold medal. Tessa came to the clinic to show us her medal. Thos things are heavy! I hear most medals are different having different versions of Haida art engraved on them.

Tomorrow will be a good learning day for health care personnel. At every Game there is an educational component. Tomorrow there will be a presentation on Prevention and Management of Head Injuries in sports. Should be good. It's right in the Village so I can attend and still cover our clinic.

Time to go.

Have a good day and tune in to the Gold medal Game. Should be a blast!!

Day 20: Ashleigh, Joannie and the "Guys"

We're feeling pretty healthy here but many are developing nasty sore thumbs due to rapid fire channel flipping to catch everything.

It looked like the winter Olympics, on the mountain at least. Vancouver lost it's bright cloudless blue skies to show what west coast "normally" looks like at this time of the year. On Cypress Mountain, fat snowflakes obstructed the habitual clear view of the skiers as they blasted away in the skicross competition. If our vision was unclear, imagine skiing down the hill really fast, in a predetermined path with jumps and banked turns. There are 3 other skiers beside you who are doing the same thing, trying to catch the best line down, the inside turn or the faster flat snow off the humps so they can pass you. It finishes off from a very steep jump that most of us wouldn't dare ski off. They don't have windshield wipers on their goggles.

Ashleigh was the 2009 World Champion in this discipline and she did not disappoint the crow. She took control from the start and finished off that last jump with the Olympic rings underneath her, a perfect tuck to land in a sea of red screaming fans, including her parents. Gold. Maelle Ricker had nailed Gold on the same course, in beautiful sunny conditions though, in the snowboard cross competition last week. It seems like forever in the past now. Time is a bizarre measure here as most have no idea how long we've been here for.

I loved Ashleigh's description of her event given on CTV a mere few hours after the win. She says skicross has existed forever. "It's what all of us have been doing for years as kids skiing together and seeing who gets to the bottom first". It's a perfect analogy. It's what people do on every ski hill and hopes they don't get thrown off and lose their lift pass. They're the ones safe skiers like us see blast down in a tuck and cut us off while we're trying to be safe. We all say : "Hey, you crazy fool...". Then they grow up and win Gold Medals!

Although it would have been better to get to bed, we heard there was a skicross party at one of the downtown clubs that evening. They were all celebrating the end of the competition and Ashleigh would be there with her medal. So we went over at about 11:30. The place was packed!!! You could barely move, tons of people were wearing Canadian regalia and everyone trying to get a picture with Ashleigh. I never got close (and I didn't bring my camera) and after about an hour we returned to the Village. I guess I like the quiet more than the club scene.

That was a brief experience of the "Olympic experience". The Games go on, people win, some lose, there is training, there is competing, there are meetings, you eat you sleep...and there is the partying. Vancouver has taken on these Games with intensity from all sides. The streets are packed with revellers every evening. Every day is like New Year's eve in Times Square. People are really enjoying these Games. It's called Olympic fever and it is contagious. I hear of some family and friends who had not made plans to come close to this place and now are unable to resist and simply pack up and show up. Hopefully get in some venues with last minute sale of tickets.

Don't even try to go to HBC downtown to get some Olympic clothing. At 7 pm last evening, there was still a line up to get into the store. It wrapped around the corner! There's a line up from opening to closing. You could be there for over an hour.

Joannie was on ice this evening.What a warm welcome she received at the PNE venue. She skated a great program and, as we all saw, broke down in tears upon finishing. We don't have to ask. We all know where those tears came from. Skaters' emotions often run high and will frequently have tears at their finish. It may be because they nailed a fantastic performance , think Scott and Tessa the other night. It may be because they had a fall or made mistakes they can't go back and correct and are disappointed. For Joannie, I am sure it was related to the absence of her mother for her performance. She has been strong but what a difficult period she is experiencing. The height of her competitive career at the Olympics in her own country and the loss of her mother.

Everyone is talking about "the Guys" game. We all know they're talking about the men's hockey game against the Germans. We have won decisively. 8-2. No questions regarding who was the better team. Today is serious: the Russians. Oveshkin and Crosby. Wonder what you'll be doing at 7:30 tonight........

Big events like hockey unfortunately take away from some really good stuff occurring all over the place, hence the sore thumbs on the TV remote. We have Canada 1 and Canada 2, women's 2 man (...now that's an odd name for their sport.....) bobsleigh. We are in 1st and fourth after 2 heats. Finals tonight.

Busy day ahead. Are you getting any work done?

(borrowed picture as I wasn't at the venue. It's Ashleigh's coach showing a little enthusiasm after as Ashleigh just won Gold)

Day 19: Golden Blades

They snuck under the radar. Their not a big hockey story. Canada vs USA in the women's hockey final for Gold in a few days, and the men's team starting low in their quest for the hockey podium with a match against Germany today. Ashleigh McIvor starting the women's skicross qualifications this morning to hopefully be in the final four this afternoon. These 2 stories have been monopolizing the airwaves lately.

Many of you woke up to find out Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won Canada's first ever Gold medal in figure skating's dance event at an Olympic Games. An event usually dominated by Europeans. The place was packed and when the Russian couple received their score putting them in third , it meant Scott and Tessa had the Gold.......the place erupted. I'm surprise the roof is still on. It is now 11:15 am and I don't think they've been to sleep yet. Pictures, media, CTV, etc.......I don't think they'll get a break for a few days.

But the Games are going on. Our curlers are dominating and today are fighting to get into the finals. Shall I dare say we might "Own the curling Podium"? I better be careful.

Things are still medically quiet for us and athletes are enjoying themselves. Some have finished competing and become cheerleaders for their peers. They get to go see other sorts as well. Most never get to see anything else as they are training and competing according to their schedule and if they are in a sport that lasts most of the games, they are committed and don't get to see much else. It's nice to see the stands with Canadian athlete cheering. Although they're hard to find as it appears that most people have been to HBC and bought some Canadian apparel which makes everyone look like a Canadian Olympic team member. The home team is therefore huge.

As I write this I am watching Cheryl Bernard throw her last rock against team Great Britain. Most, like myself, have trouble getting excited about curling. After looking at so many highlights of impressive control by our Canadian teams, We have become riveted by what is happening at the Curling Centre. So many phenomenal shots and Cheryl's last one, for the win, is long by about 6 inches. She has made this shot many times over the last few weeks. It's a draw. They're not done yet as they will play an extra end. But the pressure rises. I never thought curling could be that exciting but these are the best in the world and they have had a packed house at the venue. Some have said it's the noisiest crowds.

Ladies singles are on the ice starting today. Joannie Rochette will be skating and I suspect will have solid support from the audience .We also have a full schedule with medal events with the short track speed skaters tonight. Things aren't done yet.....

Day 18: Tragic sadness

No, I am not going to call our Canadian hockey team's loss against the USA a tragic sad affair. I can call it many other things..... It is a crushing loss for the team, the Canadian olympic members and most Canadians. But it's only a game. It is a sport and, as I have said before, we can't have 2 winners. It would be terrific if Canada had won. The morale in this Village would have picked up as you could imagine, things aren't as positive as could be in here.

The tragic sadness is late last night, Joannie Rochette's mother died suddenly in her hotel room in Vancouver. She had recently arrived to see her daughter compete as one of the world's top figure skaters. I woke up and learned the news from our CMO (Chief Medical Officer). A few of the docs got together to review some of the sad events. Joannie woke up to learn the same news. Her father was with her, having been allowed an accreditation to enter the Village. The whole Canadian team, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Skate Canada are all joining together to support Joannie during these horrible moments. Our condolences go to her and her family. She has decided that she will compete. I suspect she will be fighting with the strength of her mother as her internal power.

We continue to see some disappointing results from our Canadians which doesn't help morale. Our skicross men's team was down one athlete due to an injury a few days ago and a replacement literally flown in and showed up yesterday to train for one hour on the course and compete. We thought we had come from behind to capture bronze but a nasty wipe out took Chris Delbosco down at the last turn. If you read my post from a few days ago, you will note that I was standing at that curve and described its dangerous 90 degree turn after a high speed jump. That's where Chris flew off. One would assume he was still trying to get ahead by taking the turn close inside and was thrown up way too high and off balance.

On a positive note.....yes there is one! Kristina Groves got her second medal of the Games with a Silver in the 1500 m long track speed skating event. Christine Nesbitt, skating in the last pair almost made it 2 Canadians on the podium but sadly lost time in her last lap and fell to 6th. I guess we could say that today's many clouds ended up with a silver lining.

Tonight we are trying to deal with many bad moments, mainly helping one of our athlete deal with her tragic loss.

Have a good night.

Day 17: About those downs.....

Today saw many of our athletes gearing up for a fight. Both long and short track skaters were set up for a busy day. Although I did mention so much about trying not to be too negative on my previous post, it is difficult to have a sensation of happiness with Canada's day today.

The Hamelin brothers, Charles and Francois, were ready to pounce on their enemies tonight at the Short track venue. The crowd was noisy and the American Apolo Anton Ohno appeared to have a fair share of countrymen in the stands as well. Both the Hamelins placed to get themselves in the final. 5 racers, 3 medals, 2 Canadians who are feared on the circuit. It did not end well even as the Hamelins took the lead for most of the race. At the end of the 1000 metres it was Korea, Korea and USA. The red and white crowd was silenced but the Americans picked up the cheers. This happened after we saw Tania Vicent fail to make the podium in her final. There is a lot of support for our Canadian athletes but today was not very positive.

The speed skaters at the Richmond Oval were equally set aside by stronger legs as only Denny Morrison broke the top 10.

The evening finished well as our men's curling team came from behind to log in their 6th victory against Great Britain. They are the only undefeated team in their round robin. The women are also undefeated but did not play today.

One item that is gathering attention is the medal count. Everyone has predictions and our progress is scored against a timetable of expected medals. Canada considers itself about minus 4 and possibly worse after this evening's short track performances. The US is about plus 9! They now have 23 medals. This is quickly becoming the US show. They have 9 in alpine skiing events alone. The Koreans are sneaking ahead as they always pick up in the short track events.

Hmmm, there are worries about predictions. Where will we be in 1 week.....nobody knows. Hopes are high for ski cross. At one event last year: the Canadians swept the podium: 1,2 and 3. Will that happen? Watch it Sunday. It's going to be an intense event.

The biggest issue brewing over the last few days will finally take place tomorrow: Canada against USA in men's hockey. It will be a scene likely never experienced. The crowd will be intense for both teams. I'm planning on attending...if I can get in. Let's see what my "infiniti pass" can do for me tomorrow.......

On a lighter note, what would you think athletes do when they have some time off or want to relax between training sessions? We have, in our residence's lobby, 2 regulation nets and a bunch of sticks. It therefore comes naturally to have our freestyle aerials team get in some road hockey in the afternoon.

Day 16: Ups and Downs

I knew this title would be used at some point. When you're at these Games you experience the extreme of performance results in a different way then simply by watching it on TV. Don't get me wrong, we watch a lot of television. Especially in the medical clinic. There are televisions everywhere in Team Canada's Mission and Operations offices. There are many times that the clinic has no athletes being treated so we gather around the screen and try to watch everything. Not only do we get the same channels everyone else has (CTV, Sportsnet, TSN and NBC) but we have a few "Olympic Channels" that are dedicated to events. They don't get commentary but we get to have even more sports visible at the same time.

Now about the title. It's not all about emotional highs for winners. It would be great if it was but, let's be realistic, someone has to "not win". Now when it's at a far away World Cup event, it still matters but being not front page news, it may not hurt as much. These are the Olympics. For people in amateur sports, this is the ultimate "tournament". World Cup and World Championships happen every year in all these sports. These Games show up every 4 years. We have seen many Canadians perform very well and stand on many podiums (..or podia, I just learned the plural form can be either) over the last year at World Cup and Championships. For our athletes, these Games are more important as they happen in Canada. In front of a home crowd. Not just their parents who may have spent tons of money to go see them compete in small countries deep in Europe. Everyone is their "family" or support. The difficult thing is that euphoria is sometimes separated from sadness by a mere 0.25 seconds. Melissa Hollingsworth was expected to stand on the podium for skeleton. She was what is considered not only a "medal hopeful" but an expected medal. The color is the only unknown issue. She was second heading in the 4th and final run last night. She had a better start than her competitors, faster sown the already ominously fast track and bumped 2 walls before the last turn.......eventually finished in 5th. Had she not bumped those walls, lightly touched them actually, she would have been on the podium. 0.25 seconds would have given her a bronze and 0.51 seconds a silver. Her interview said it all. She's crushed. This is her home crowd and she feels personally responsible for letting them down. Here in the Vancouver Village, we are physically far from her as half our team is at the Whistler Village. We still felt crushed with her.

That was the "down" . A few hours later, Canada was euphoric, Whistler was absolutely packed with screaming fans as on Montgomery had his skeleton run of his life. The sliding centre erupted when the last competitor came in 0.07 seconds slower than Jon, crowning him Olympic champion.

0.07 seconds = euphoria, walking through Whistler with a mob of fans giving you a pitcher of beer to chug as cops cheer you on, heading to a national live broadcast of an interview with CTV outside in the crowded street of Whistler.

0.25 seconds = sadness, isolation within your emotions and difficulty analyzing 4 years of intense training that ended up with what many will consider "failure".

This is where things get uneasy. How many out there across our country became angry with her performance? How many called it "poor", a "failure", "horrible", a "waste of our tax dollars", " can't believe we spend so much money on sports in this country...."? Should the USA scrap their sports programs? Should they trash all support for amateur sports? They apparently don't have as much availability for healthcare as we do yet we have many Canadians opine that we should not give so much money to sports as we should have more in healthcare.

An American came in 5th in the men's skeleton. Did you know that? Did you know he finished 1.54 seconds slower than Jon? In skeleton terms, that's standstill. That's enough time to have a coffee on the track. In the world of speed sports, that is "slow". We have a lot of people out there calling our athletes "no good" for being the 4th or 5th best IN THE WORLD. Separating them from the elation of being the best: less than half a second. We need to support the athletes during the 3-4 years they train to be here, not just while the Games are on. Many countries here at the Games have serious despair and grief but we don't see them on CTV. Everyone is experiencing ups and downs.

These Games are not just amazing for the pure athleticism and performances but also for the emotional roller coasters we ride every hour. That is probably the best perk of being part of this team and being here. Yes, I watch most of it on television as you do, but we live it in a different manner when we are alongside the athletes during their own roller coasters.

There are details I can't divulge here due to confidentiality but you would be amazed, or shocked, to see what these athletes are going through on these competitive theatres. I have spent time chatting with an athlete who had a serious fall during a training run. The injury sustained would have called for most "normal" humans to run to the hospital's emergency department and likely ask for a month off work for their condition and pain. The athlete got up, was assessed and decided to keep going. The athlete's time for the 2 runs was not fast enough to advance in the finals. One could see the name near the bottom of the list of competitors and, without knowing the details, would be horrified we did "so poorly". These athletes are pretty young but very tough. Sometimes we know details not available to the public and humbles us as we see these athletes clip on their boots, get their helmets on and carry on.

So much stuff to talk about. I managed to get myself up to Cypress mountain yesterday, albeit for only about one hour before I had to get back. Sunny, almost summer weather. I was checking out the snowcross training. In one word: they're crazy. They use the same course as the snowboarders did last week. By the way, the snowboard cross athletes are as wild as the ski cross folks. The course has been modified a little as they are faster. I'm sorry to say but the television cannot do this any justice. I stood beside the track at the last turn before they head down the final jump to finish. That is where we saw Maelle Ricker zoom down for the Gold. That jump is scary in real life. It is incredibly steep and coming at it from a 90 degree turn....maybe 4 skiers at a time. They're crazy! I can't wait to see the competition.

Tons of stuff happening: aerials, Canadian supremacy at the curling rink, bobsleigh and snowcross. What a week ahead.

Day 15: Gold number 3 and hockey stress

Christine Nesbitt won the 1000m long track speed skating event at last year's World Championship. Could she do it again with this amount of pressure? The Oval's crowd was ready to explode and .....it did when the clock showed a time 0.02 seconds faster when her toe crossed the line. She was in first! Krstina Groves, already a bronze medal winner at these games was skating in the last pair and could have put 2 Canadians on the podium. She came in 4th. What a day at he Oval. At the other end of town one of our women snowboarders made it in the final round in the halfpipe. An event, as we saw yesterday, quite dominated by Americans. Mercedes came in 6th place which is great.

It has been quite quiet on the medical front. I have been lucky to be not very busy as a doctor for our Canadian team. The therapists associated with the teams have been working steadily to maintain the functionality of our athletes.They are the workhorses of the health care provision at these Games. Most of the therapists have been associated with their teams (hockey, freestyle skiing, snowboard, speed skate, etc) for quite some time. They know the athletes and have been caring for them already. It makes it an easy transition when they are in this environment where familiarity is key. Physiotherapists, massage therapists and athletic therapists all manage the fine tuning of the athletes. They see them daily. They are at every practice and every game. They see them when they are back at the Village as well. Training at high intensity to perform at this level creates more than a few aches. It is quite interesting to see the dynamics between athlete and therapist. I had a chance to go to 2 periods of Canada's hockey game this evening. I had to leave to return to the Village as I was covering clinic. What was the point as I knew everyone would either be training, competing in their event....or watching the game! It started well and the crowd was amazing. It became quite stressful at the end and Sydney Crosby, with a look of "I have had enough of this!" scored the only goal on the shootout. This was only a round robin game but you would have thought the gold medal or the Stanley Cup had been won. The crown exploded and cars in the street were honking horns. The whole city is red with people walking to the rink. Everyone is wearing Canada jerseys, painting themselves, wearing crazy outfits. There are a lot of children experiencing these Games. It's an awesome sight.

More coming up. Remember: Canada does better with the sports taking place in the second week!

Day 14:Difficult to keep track

There are so many things going on at the same time it is difficult to keep track. We had the men and women curling in a packed venue full of screaming fans, we had the snowboard halfpipe world staring at Shaun White to see one of the most famous athletes perform his unbelievable tricks, we had the speed skaters at the Richmond oval at the same time as the short track skaters were involved in heats and one final.

This was the women's 500 m race. We had 3 strong athletes getting set up for a possible 3 of 4 Canadians on the line in the final. Sadly, Kalyna Roberge did not get to advance as she came in third in her semi final heat. In the final, 2 of 4 skaters are Canadians. Jessica Gregg, who's brother is one of our competing long track skaters, and Marianne St-Gelais. As the gun goes off, the important move is to get to the head of the 4 skaters at the first turn . It is a fast race and doesn't last long. There are not many opportunities to pass someone in such a short time. The thunderous crowd was instantly silenced as our 2 Canadians fell together and took themselves out of the race !!!!!!! At the first turn !!!!!!. Luckily, if such a fall occurs, the referee can call the racers back and re-start. He did. Sigh of relief in the crowd then the volume picked up. It was an exciting event and Marianne came in for a silver medal. The chinese winner is a power house who dominates this event in short track.

By the way, everyone join in to sing Happy Birthday to Marianne who celebrates her 20th birthday today by winning a silver medal at the Winter Olympics.

The curlers were making some noise as well. Both our men and women teams are undefeated after a few days. They are looking good in the tournament but it's a hard event to predict.

The Americans showed their dominance of the events that are part of the Extreme Games. Snowboard halfpipe was a show to watch. When Shaun White came up he did tricks that are simply impressive. You should try and do them on your Wii game as I think there's a Shaun White Snowboard game.

I managed to get our briefly today and got to see Marianne's silver performance. I have watched many hours of television as it is always turned on in our medical clinic. Nothing compares to being there among an energetic crowd of cheering Canadians. Televisions may be HD and big screen but sitting there is is an unmatchable experience.

Tons more sports to happen. Canada is just warming up! Stay tuned.

Day 13: Snowboard Cross anyone??

Snowboard Canada has a new face and what a smile it is. Maelle Ricker of Vancouver, having the run of her life in her backyard. The evening before, what does an athlete think? What are their plans? Maelle said she was "going to have fun". She worked hard, exploded out of the gate and killed that run without ever looking back. When she soared at the last jump, it looked as if she came right out of the Olympic rings on the hill behind her. The day started grey and foggy, delayed some runs but finished bright and sunny. "Golden" sunny. When interviewed she looked right in the camera and thanked the country for being so supportive, keeping the energy of these Games on a sustained high level. She said it made athletes enjoy competing . She said she's having fun! Thanks Maelle for letting us have fun watching you rip that hill apart.

Excellent day at the hill. The second round of freestyle skiers, the aerials, were training today. Should be a great competition and we hope Cypress will keep being generous to the Canadians.

The men's hockey team took to the ice today in what could be described as the wildest, loudest "home game" any of those players have ever experimented. I'm scared to think what that place will be like when the tournament gets closer to the medals rounds. Get some earplugs! I was sitting up in the section where athletes can go and watch. Some of the Canadian women's players were there as well. It's hard not to get excited about the possibility of men and women grabbing some golden hardware in a few weeks.

Hopefully I will get out to the short track speed skating competition tomorrow evening. Three events tomorrow night. The women's 500 m will be a medal event. It will be fast and ruthless. Kalyna Roberge is skating. Let's wish her well.

Day 12: ALexandre's Night!

I realize I'm getting later in my posts....this should have been done last night.

I managed to get the evening "off". All the other doctors were committed to different events during the day: long and short track speed skating, snowboard cross, figure skating, men and women hockey. I hung out in the clinic as we always have one doc available. I don't have to be physically in the clinic but able to get here if an athlete needs to see me. It's better to hang out in the clinic anyways as we have the nice sharp plasma tv always tuned on all events. It's a great place to chat with everyone. In some major Games I have been involved with, the clinic often becomes the central place where many gather to catch up on what's happening. Athletes get treated by their therapists and everyone gets caught up in conversations. Yesterday we had athletes from women bobsleigh, figure skating, snowboard half-pipe and cross and women's hockey all getting fine tuned as we chatted. What is also great is the therapeutic excellence in this place. One could easily say that some of our country's best therapists ( I may have to say "available" therapists as some don't have the luxury of being able to volunteer some of their time here) are here. There is much to learn from their conversations and observing their treatments.

What a tangent I took off on ! What I was saying .....one of my colleagues was able to cover the clinic for the evening so I went to the Victory Ceremony to witness our gold medal presentation. Last night was Alexandre Bilodeau's night. At BC Place, the crowd noisily awaited the first medal presentation which was for men's moguls. A concert warmed everyone up before the ceremonies started. People have to purchase tickets as it's also en evening of entertainment. Nelly Furtado was the show 2 nights ago. It's starts with the raising of the Olympic flag by RCMP officers. Then the athletes march in.......and the crowd goes ballistic. They announced the bronze and sliver medallists and then we heard nothing but a roar as Alexandre was welcomed on top of the podium. I didn't know what to look at : Alexandre's face as he got the medal or turn around and witness euphoria. What was the best was to see tons of small children all painted up with Canada flag tattoos, dressed in Canada gear and jumping and cheering. I'm sure most of you saw it on television but, I'm sorry to say, you had to be there. Hopefully my short scan video ( I know it's shaky) works for you. I had a video on my blog for the sliding centre and some have said it didn't work. It works when I try it. Try and click on the little "play" triangle and not on the black screen.file in file out

Snowboard cross was exciting as well. Every Canadian thought we had the Gold medal already around Mark's neck with that great lead he had. But they say you always expect the unexpected in that event and the American had an impressive finish to catch up. A silver medal. That brings our total up to 4. I don't think we're done yet as there are many events to take place.

Stay tuned. Today: men's hockey starts the tournament.

Day 11: GOLD!

Wonder what I'll talk about...Hmmm.

Well history is made. No more stories about "the only country not to win a Gold medal while hosting the Olympic Games. Montreal:0. Calgary:0. Vancouver : 1...so far.

If you think there was energy at your house, your office, your pub or your restaurant where you enjoyed this event, you should have been here. I did not have the chance to be at Cypress but the Canadians who were in the Village lit the place up. What a thrill Alexandre Bilodeau's performance was. We can't forget his teammates, Pierre-Alexandre, Vincent and Maxime who had us out of our seats as well. We thought they would "own the couch" (see yesterday's blog to know about the couch stuff).

I can't wait to see him tonight or tomorrow. His medal will be presented tomorrow evening at BC place during one of the Medal Ceremonies. You must have been wondering why they only get a flower bouquet at the site of the competition. Medals are presented in a huge ceremony on the following day. It's a party at BC Place. Tonight Jennifer Heil will be getting her medal with a concert by Nelly Furtado. Tomorrow it will be Alexandre's turn. he will be accompanied by Kristina Groves who won a bronze medal in the women's 3000m speed skating event today. She will compete in 4 more during these Games. How many will she be wearing around her neck ?

I didn't manage to get out to venues today, no pictures. I managed to sneak in a run along the seawall in sunny 12 degrees temperatures. These are the Winter Games? The weather is great but bad for the events. Apline is troubled with scheduling and snowboard will is concerned as well.
On the figure skating front, both our pairs qualified today and came ine 6th and 7th. The finals are tomorrow.

BTW, men's hockey is in the Village. Creates an interesting change in the atmosphere. Recognizable faces are among the crowd. Ovechkin. Crosby. There are some serious game faces on.

The schedule is crazy now as we are trying to figure out who's competing where and when. Exciting times. Another event to watch tomorrow: Jeremy Wotherspoon, men's 500 m spped skating. I'm going to try and get myself there.

Have a great day. Just think :Gold !

Day 10: Canada is on the Medal board

Disappointment?

The media say so but it's the thrill of competition. This is not the Stanley Cup playoffs where you can have great days and bad days but you can correct a few things and since you have 7 games to do it, you can afford a few minutes of less than perfect execution.

Jennifer Heil had 30 seconds. Actually 27.91 seconds. No mistakes could be made and the pressure on her shoulders makes it surprising she could even stand up. What a run she skied. The crowd went nuts, standing in gusts of face slapping rain to await "the American". Hannah Kearney took on her share of the pressure. Nothing less than perfect, ...and then some, could make her move Jennifer "down the couch". All of us in the clinic rivetted to the same telecast you all were, had fun looking at the huge bean bags the 3 leaders sit in. As one gets a better score, the others shift around. Kind of like being voted off the island or slid off the couch.

What a run Hannah performed. Enough to get the number one position. Everyone is disappointed we didn't get the gold but the thrill of the competition, the stress, the pressure to put yourself in a bubble of intense concentration for less than 30 seconds, was all there. What a way to start these Games. Jennifer Heil did great and everyone here is proud of her performance. I think everyone should.

Compare watching this event with the women's hockey team hammering the Slovakian ladies 18-0. We won solidly. Which event was more fun to watch? Which event had you afraid to get a glass of water, go get a snack, go to the bathroom for fear of missing something? It was the moguls. It's what sports are all about. This is the best multisport competition that occurs. I suspect a lot of you will be logging in later evenings to catch it live. It will be an exciting 2 weeks if everyday is like this. We will win gold. There's a lot of stuff happening.

The men are on the same moguls today and we should medal there as well. Which one will it be?

Today, 3000 m long track speed skating. Kristina Groves, Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes. The focus is on the Richmond Oval. Go get your snacks and drinks now. You'll be watching it. I know you are!

Day 9: Thrill and Sadness

What an uncomfortable situation. The whole Village ,added to Olympic family and friends, is excited as this is finally the day for Opening Ceremonies. Energy, thrill, anxiety, a mental "rush" grows in each individual here. It all comes crashing down when the news of a fallen friend is disseminated through the information highway. A young and energetic athlete succumbed to his injuries on the luge track. I was just there yesterday and described in my blog what a sensational place that was. I was in the corner, corner 16, the last ripping bend that takes the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athlete a full 180 degrees around to end the run with an uphill finish. The runoff. The same we see on highways where large trucks can escape if their braking systems fail and they need to slow their speed down to eventually stop. Nodar Kumaritashvili died coming out of that corner as he lost control and left the track. I'm sure most of you have seen the scary videos as they were on Youtube within hours. Information dissemination travels faster than light. The Olympic Community tamed its energy to support the Georgian delegation in their moment of sorrow.

I was pleased to see the respect showed with the lowering of the Canadian and Olympic flags to half mast during opening ceremonies.

About those Ceremonies. Did you see me on TV? Did you see me march in with our Canadian team? I was right there, a little to the right.......sitting on the couch watching the Ceremonies from our lounge. I did not getr to march in. I cannot hide what a disappointment it was not to march. "The March". It's what was on everyone's tongue during the last few days as we all hoped we'd get a chance to march in. The march is officially for athletes. It's evident as they announce it: "The Olympic Athletes". Greece always start, as they were the original hosts of these Games. The host country always finishes it off and the rest is alphabetical as per the alphabet of the host country. That would be why Canada came in pretty late at the Athens Games in 2004 as Canada is spelled "Kanada" over there. So the deal is that each country gets "one pass per athlete plus 6". Not 6 extra passes per athletes but 6 for the whole delegation. That is to allow the Chef the Mission, Assistant Chef and a few more. If athletes decide not to show up, if they're competing the next day for example, then their passes are distributed to their team's coaches. This is where the wishing and crossing of fingers happens. We hope that enough passes are left over to be distributed to everyone else who wants to come in. Canada has such a large support team and many athletes marched. That did not leave much for the rest of the team. I therefore did not get a marching pass. I have marched with the Canadian team in Turkey, China, Korea, Brazil and Australia. It was an experience that is impossible to describe, even by the most skilled writer. You "have to be there". The deep, emotional rush grabs you and you are in a special place for a few minutes. Canadians are proud of their country and we are marching in unison representing our country with our flag at the front. Even in foreign lands we receive thunderous support. But nothing would have compared to marching in Vancouver. Home crowd. What an undescribable moment it would have been. Oh well, not much we can do about it.

Did you enjoy the show? Did you guess the torch bearer who would light the final flame in the "cauldron". Wasn't really a cauldron though. Wonder how the people responsible for the mechanics of those arms felt when the fourth did not rise. So much planning and......a long uncomfortable pause that seemed to last forever. Doesn't matter. The Flame is on and the Games are off.

At every Game, the opening Ceremony stuff starts early as we have to get our clothes organized, get together somewhere where we can load up on buses and get ourselves to another marshalling area near the stadium. There we wait and goof off until we are told to line up for the march. Depending on how far the stadium is, it can start at 11 am even if we have to march at 7 pm. Then the chaos of getting ourselves on buses is a nightmare that sometimes gets us back at the Village near midnight. That would be why athletes frequently decide to forget it if they are competing the next day. As we were hosts, we had our own private pep rally here in the Village instead of heading over to the hockey arena next to the stadium. Guests gave motivational speeches to our assembled group then buses were loaded ( ...for the ones going). Julie Payette, a highly recognized Canadian astronaut, shared a great story. Last year many Canadian Olympic athletes signed a t-shirt. Sadly, not one of the Canada ones from the Vancouver Games but one of the Canda shirt from the Olympic Games in Beijing. Doesn't matter. Julie took that shirt in the shuttle Endeavour during her last flight. She had a picture taken of her wearing it with a beautiful view of the Earth in the window. The shuttle flew 248 times around the Earth. As she said, no other country did this so "Canada has a head start" of a few millions miles! I managed to play "groupie" and have my picture taken with Julie and Mark Tewksbury. Why not, might as well enjoy the moment.

During the day, I went over to the site of competition for short track speed skating with our team. We expect medals from both the men and women teams. A few of them have already been medalled at previous games and the energy is high. A hour of training where, again, being at rink side makes one realize that televised sports cannot transcend the speed, power and energy of these sports. A look at these athletes when they are hanging out, eating in the cafeteria or on the bus makes one wonder:" Those are athletes, they don't look so powerful.

They appear all small and calm. Until look at their legs! There's a "look" we assume athletes should have. The huge, powerful physique, the tough serious look on their face.... These guys look like the kid next door. They are quite young or maybe I'm getting old (likely the latter!). But make no mistakes, these are highly trained machines designed to rip the ice as they travel like runaway locomotives around turns that seem too tight. They trust their skates and care for them as if they have a life of their own. After all, when you skate so fast that you are almost horizontal in a turn and you trust your skate to bite and lead you in a perfect arc as if on rails, you better take care of them.

Long blog today. Gotta go. Today: freestyle skiing, moguls for women. We're hoping that Jennifer Heil will repeat her gold medal performance from Torino. She's ranked number 1. She's on the hill today. Let the real Games begin!

Day 8: Sliding Centre

I had a chance to go for a quick visit to Whistler today. As I had to be in the clinic at 5 pm, I thought it would be enough time to rush to the other Olympic site: Whistler. At Whistler we find cross-country skiing, ski jump, alpine, biathlon and the sliding sports ,luge, bobsleigh and skeleton. Since the men were training on the luge track today, it was a perfect time to go and check it out. The site is impressive. I can imagine a noisy environment there with the crowd and the music blasting. The guys will reach speeds exceeding 150 km/hr with only a little control with their legs to guide them along a crazy tortuous, steep ramp finishing with a long 180 degree turn: turn 16. This is where they will be at their fastest as it is at the bottom, just before the end where the ramp goes up to help them slow down as you have to remember, they have no brakes.

It was pretty impressive and, as I have found with multiple sports, never truely transferrable when you see it on television. They are fast!

I didn't have a chance to get to the ski jumps. I heard they are breathtaking. Especially on a nice sunny day. It was snowing hard wet snow today which led them to cease alpine ski training due to poor visibility. Too much snow at Whistler, raining hard on Cypress today. A happy medium would be great!

I have inserted a very brief video. Hope it works.

Tomorrow: Opening Ceremonies.

Day 7: Canada is officially here

Although it was grey and rainy, Canada has “officially” arrived in the Village. Although most countries have arrived and different teams and athletes trickle in depending on their schedules, countries are officially welcomed in the Village by having a Flag Raising ceremony. Canada’s was this evening. It usually starts with a gathering of everyone from Team Canada who is available. This includes Mission Staff, coaching and support team, not only the athletes. We have a directive to tell us what are the clothing elements we have to wear and we all gather to be marched in the Ceremony Plaza. Because we are home you can imagine there was quite the cheering section... even in the soft rain.

Other such ceremonies I have experienced have been somewhat dull but this one was different. We had a special guest who took the role of MC. When they announced her: out jumps Sandra Oh! She has become famous from her role in Grey’s Anatomy. She was having a ball out there. Even Mr Stephen Harper and the Governor General, Michaele Jean, were present. We were all surprised. They posed for some pictures.

Many proud faces looked on as the Canadian Flag was raised alongside the Olympic Flag.
And then the fun started as some First Nations members energized the crowd with their drums, it didn’t take too long before players from the women’s hockey team stormed the stage to dance and jump around while posing for pictures with the mascots and Sandra.

A fun time was had, not too long though as everyone soon scampered back to business: eat a late dinner, rest or many team meetings.
When the flag is up, it means the action is about to start soon.