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TURNEROUND
Spirit, Snow, and a Story of Success
by: Arri Ye
SOCHI, RUSSIA-The Olympics are over. Gone will be the excitement of waking up to the exploits of a nation swathed in red and white each morning. Gone will be the sitting back in class as the Olympics played out on the screen, with everything from curling, to figure skating, and to hockey. Gone will be the collective cheers and sighs of relief, as everyone from students to teachers celebrated a clinched medal, phenomenal victory, or astounding goal. Gone will be the amazing athleticism, concentrated into this city along the coast of the Black Sea. Gone will be the Olympic Flame, and along with it the Games that had everything.
One thing will always endure, however. The Olympic Spirit‒one that embodies all that is just and virtuous, in the true meaning of the Games ‒will remain, whether in the athletes or those who support them. As the sun sets on the XXII Winter Olympic Games, Canada has a lot to be proud with, walking away from Sochi with more pride than ever.
With the second half of competition over, Canada placed with an impressive 3rd overall in world medal standings, only behind Norway and Russia. Earning 25 total medals‒10 gold, 10 silver, and 5 bronze‒Canada did well, finishing just 1 medal shy of the 26 medal mark set in Vancouver 2010.
With the competition even more fierce, Canadians were up to the task in the second half.
Denny Morrison collected his second medal at Sochi, with a bronze in 1500m long track speedskating. Fresh off his silver from 1000m, this BC native is well on his way to becoming a great name in speedskating.
Dominique Maltais, of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Québec, then provided an amazing performance in women's snowboard cross, winning a silver on Day 9. Canada continues to put forth a strong effort in extreme sports.
On the same Day, Jan Hudec ended a twenty-year drought in Canadian men's alpine skiing, tying for bronze in the men's Super-G with American Bode Miller. He credits his win to a lucky loonie, which he buried near the finish line prior to the race, showcasing some Canadian superstition (similar to the loonie that was encased in the ice in Vancouver).
Then, on Day 10, the iconic Canadian pair, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, won the silver medal in Ice Dance, in a spectacular performance that very well may be their last at the Olympics. "We skated our hearts out," they said, in a program that epitomized the sport of Ice Dance.
Day 11 then saw another success at the track, as Team Canada, composed of Marie-Ève Drolet, Marianne St-Gelais, Jessica Hewitt, and Valérie Maltais, won silver in the 3000m relay in short track speed skating.
Cournoyer then capped off a fantastic Day 14 with a bronze in men's 500m short track, giving Canada its third medal in short track speed skating.
GOLDEN ONCE MORE - In the finale of the Olympic games, Canada shut out Sweden 3-0, after taking out the USA in the semi-finals en route to winning Canada's ninth gold in men's hockey, and third gold in the NHL era of the Winter Games. In a tournament that lacked the same excitement and drama as in Vancouver 2010, Team Canada certainly had a lot of action behind the bench, as they lost a strong player in John Tavares due to a knee injury, and had to deal with the goaltending situation. The Canadians had a solid performance however, only allowing three goals at the Olympics. Much of their success can be credited to the strong defence on the Canadian team, led by goaltender Carey Price, which effectively shut down the opposition. With this win, Canada is the first team in men's hockey to go unbeaten at the Winter Games since the Soviet Union in 1984. Canada is also the first to repeat gold in men's hockey since the Soviet Union in '84 and '88. The USA finished out of a podium spot after they were taken out 5-0 by Finland, led by Teemu Selanne.
And so, the Sochi 2014 Winter Games came to an end, in another spectacular display of loud and colourful fireworks. Along with the parade of athletes, spectators were again taken through a bit of Russian culture and tradition once again in a show that included ballet, an amazing visit to the circus, the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame. The Olympic flag was also handed off to South Korea, in the ceremonial send off of the flag to host of the next Winter Games, which will be in Pyeong Chang in 2018. In an Olympics that saw the introduction of 12 new events‒the biathlon mixed relay, team figure skating event, luge team relay, men's and women's ski halfpipe, men's and women's ski slopestyle, men's and women's snowboard slopestyle, men's and women's snowboard parallel slalom, and women's ski jumping‒there are many memorable events, stories, feats, and performances to take away from it as the world parts from Sochi 2014.
Albertan Mike Riddle also had an excellent performance, winning silver in the Olympic debut of men's ski halfpipe, making history for Canada in freestyle skiing.
We then witnessed history on Day 12, as Canada's Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse successfully became the first to defend gold in women's bobsleigh, edging out the Americans Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams by 0.10 seconds. This gave Canada its second repeat gold of the Games.In a historic performance on Day 13,
In a historic performance on Day 13, Canada's women's curling team handed Sweden a 6-3 loss, winning another gold for Canada. Led by skip Jennifer Jones, the team of Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen, and Kirsten Wall, won Canada's first gold in women's curling since 1998 in Nagano, where Sandra Schmirler last won. After dominating the round-robin tournament, the Jones rink never looked back, as they went a perfect 11-0 at the Olympics,finishing unbeaten‒a first in women's curling.
ON THE BRINK - Another epic clash in women's ice hockey graced the ice at Sochi, as Team Canada held off Team USA 3-2 in a thrilling overtime win, defending its 4th straight gold. As they entered the third period down 2-0, Team Canada proceeded to mount an amazing comeback, with Brianne Jenner scoring the first goal for the Canadians at 16:34. Then, in a heart-stopping moment, American Kelli Stack got a hold of the puck from Canadian Catherine Ward after a linesman got in the way, and shot it towards the empty Canadian net. For sure, it was over at that point. However, in a miraculous turn of events, the puck bounced right off the post, staying out of the net. This set the stage for Team Canada, as they dictated the tempo and had the momentum from then on. With 55 seconds left in the third period, Marie-Philip Poulin scored the equalizer at 19:05, capitalizing on a mistake by Team USA. Roars, and sighs of relief erupted all across Canada. Poulin then went on to score the overtime winner, clinching the gold for Canada in a game reminiscent of Vancouver, where Crosby scored "The Golden Goal".
Day 14 gave Canadians exciting news in the morning, as Marielle Thompson and Kelsey Serwa, both from British Columbia, won the gold and silver respectively in women's ski cross.CANADA SWEEPS - Canada's men's curling team, consisting of skip Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden, and Caleb Flaxey, took down Great Britain in a decisive 9-3 victory for the home team, completing the sweep for Canada in curling. This gave Canada its third straight gold in men's curling. Boucherville, Québec's Charle Cournoyer then capped off a