TORONTO – When it comes to medal wins, Canada is not expected to see the same level of success at the London 2012 Olympic Games as the country saw at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
“We had some incredible success in Vancouver that was above and beyond our expectations,” says Greg Wells, an assistant professor at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology, whose expertise includes human performance in extreme conditions. “But with more nations competing in the Summer Games than in Winter Games, it makes every medal even that much more difficult to win.”
Overall, about 205 nations will compete in over 300 events in London this summer – a drastic difference from the 77 countries that were involved in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. At the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, Canadian athletes took home 18 medals and placed 15th in overall medal count. This year, Own the Podium predicts a top 12 overall finish for Canada.
Canada’s Olympic Committee comprises of 277 athletes from 10 provinces and territories who are set to compete in 26 sport disciplines. Some of Canada’s more established veteran athletes – including three-time world boxing champion Mary Spencer; Olympic triathlon champion and Canada’s Opening Ceremonies flag bearer Simon Whitfield; and three-time Olympic medalist and sprint kayaker Adam van Koeverden – are all favoured to win a medal.
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While there is a reasonable balance for a medal win between some very established veterans, Wells says Canada should not overlook some up-and-coming star athletes either.
“We find that people who are generally top five or six in the world going into the Olympics have a shot at a medal,” says Wells. “But every once in a while, there are those ‘outliers’ who manage to sneak onto the podium.”
At his Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, Whitfield’s gold medal win was not expected. In the 40-kilometre bike ride through downtown Sydney, Whitfield finished the race in 25th place. With 200 metres left in a 10-kilometre run, Whitfield sprinted to the finish line past Germany’s Stephen Vuckovic.
Wells says one of the factors that will determine whether an athlete does well or not depends on their ability to focus during their performance.
“You can’t prepare for the Olympic Games,” says Wells. “There’s nothing you can do in practice that can replicate the fact that when you’re on, it’s your time to perform at the Olympics and it’s your time to go for a medal. The fact that you have millions of people watching and cheering for you makes it extremely difficult to stay on task and focus.”
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