Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Winter 2009/2010 Legacy | Page 13
FEATURE
CTV’s Top 10 Canadian Olympic Winter Moments
9
as voted by Canadians and presented by the Royal Canadian Mint:
1
6
Clara Hughes
gold medal, long track speed skating, Turin, 2006
2
Women’s Hockey Team
gold medal, Salt Lake City, 2002
7
3
Cindy Klassen
one gold medal, two silver medals
and two bronze medals, long track
speed skating, Turin, 2006
Nancy Greene
gold medal and silver medal, alpine skiing,
Grenoble, 1968
8
Gaétan Boucher
two gold medals and one bronze medal,
long track speed skating, Sarajevo, 1984
4
Jamie Salé and David Pelletier
gold medal, figure skating,
Salt Lake City, 2002
9
Beckie Scott
gold medal, cross-country skiing,
Salt Lake City, 2002
5
10
Men’s Hockey Team
gold medal, Salt Lake City, 2002
Catriona Le May Doan
gold medal, long track speed skating,
Salt Lake City, 2002
Nagano and the fact that she is the only woman to have set eight
consecutive world records in one distance, and it is not surprising
that Le May Doan is referred to as “the fastest woman on ice.”
After four Olympics, Le May Doan retired from competitive
skating in 2003 and became a member of the official Canadian
contingent for the Vancouver Olympics. She still holds the
Olympic record in the 500 m.
Short track speed skater Marc Gagnon has won every major
title in his sport. When he stepped onto the ice in Salt Lake City
in 2002, although he already held the gold medal for a 5000 m
relay in Nagano, he was looking for an individual win. In the
500 m sprint, after just 41.802 seconds, Gagnon crossed the finish
line taking gold and setting a new Olympic record, one that still
stands today. Less than an hour later, he stepped back onto the ice
with three teammates and skated to gold in the 5000 m relay.
With five medals, Gagnon is one of Canada’s most decorated
Winter Olympics athletes.
Not all of the Top 10 Canadian Olympic Winter Moments
took place on ice. One of Canada’s favourites, Beckie Scott, is an
athlete we remember as much for her reputation for clean play
as for her accomplishments. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics,
Scott made a dramatic lunge at the finish line of the ladies’ 5 km
combined pursuit to win bronze and become the first North
American to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Scott
would have loved gold but was unable to beat out two members
of the Russian team. Days later, though, after having passed their
10
Marc Gagnon
gold medal, short track speed skating,
Salt Lake City, 2002
initial tests, both Russian skiers were found to be using a banned
substance. Scott was eventually awarded the gold medal.
Retired as an athlete since 2006, Scott continues her battle
to make the sport a better place as an athlete member of the
International Olympic Committee; the Olympic organizing
committee for the Vancouver 2010 Games; and the foundation
board of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Depending on your age, Nancy Greene may still be your
most remembered Canadian Olympian. In 1968 in Grenoble, at
her third Winter Olympics, after winning silver in the slalom, the
giant slalom w as Greene’s ninth Olympic race and her last chance
for a gold medal. After a near perfect race, Greene turned to look
at the clock and the numbers were still moving. She thought,
“I’ve just skied the race of my life and they missed my time.”
The clock malfunction was corrected and Greene had won the
race by 2.64 seconds, the largest margin in the event's history.
Greene retired from competition, but skiing has never left her
sights. She was instrumental in the development and promotion
of ski tourism in British Columbia and, in 1999, was named
Canada’s female athlete of the century by The Canadian Press
and Broadcast News.
Most of us can hardly wait to see how our Canadian athletes
fare at our very own Winter Games. What records will fall? Which
athletes will shine? Will our bosses realize our out-of-office
meetings correspond with key sporting events? We will have to
wait for February to see how it all unfolds.
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