Keys to Canada's Success at 2010 Olympics

Four sports key to Canada's 2010 Olympic medal total

VANCOUVER -- It's hard to think of the Turin Olympics as anything but a success when Canada scored its highest medal totals ever at the 2006 Games. But the haul could have been better, says Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer Chris Rudge.

Canada is poised to push beyond the 24 medals won four years ago, but four key sports -- freestyle skiing, snowboarding, figure skating and alpine skiing -- will need to convert their world championship sucesses of 2009 to podium finishes at the Vancouver Games.

Together, athletes in those sports brought a dozen medals home to Canada from the worlds last winter, including the downhill gold by ski racer John Kucera and gold in parallel giant slalom by Jasey Jay Anderson.

"If we're going to do it (finish first) there could be four sports that do it, four sports where we got only three medals in Torino -- freestyle skiing (Jennifer Heil), snowboard (Dominique Maltais), figure skating (Jeff Buttle). In alpine skiing we were shut out," Rudge said on the eve of a massive Canadian Olympic media summit at which more than 90 prospective Olympians and federations will talk about their progress toward making Canada the top medal-winning country at the Games.

"If those four sports carry over their success and the rest of the sports hold their own, we could do it," Rudge said.

Canada finished third in total medals at Turin, behind Germany with 29 and the United States with 25. If gold medals are the criterion for ranking, then Canada's seven in 2006 put it in a fifth-place tie with Sweden, behind Germany (11), the United States and Austria (9 each) and Russia (8).

"Ski-cross is a big opportunity as a new sport. We're great adapters when a new events comes into the Games. In alpine, we have good medal potential (besides Kucera's world championship, Manuel Osborne-Paradis had three World Cup podiums and a win at Kvitfjell, Norway and the Janyk siblings, Britt and Michael grew up skiing at Whistler, B.C.)

"In freestyle, to go with Jen Heil in moguls, Alexandre Bilodeau won the men's World Cup in moguls, the dual moguls world championship and his last five World Cup events in sucesion, and Steve Omischl has a record that's unsurpassed in aerials."

The mass media exposure is intended to provide a glut of background for reporters so the athletes will be left in peace as they prepare for the biggest winter of their lives. It follows a COC Excellence Series session in which athletes have been mentored by predecesors who have been through the Olympic mill and can tell this generation what awaits them.

Luge racer Regan Lauscher said in a Canadian Press interview that it helped her mindset and made her more comfortable to know that two-time gold medal speed skater Catriona Le May Doan had doubts going through her mind as she went into the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

"Just to hear Catriona say 'I broke down and didn't think I could do it' before 2002, to hear someone who you think would never stumble... for them to sit there and listen to you, know who you are and to say 'We support you. You're here for a reason and part of this group and everyone knows you can do it' ... you really feel you have an enormous support group behind you," said Lauscher.

The Vancouver session is also a form of team- building, using cross-sport synergies that can come of past winners inspiring new winners. It's the last time most of the potential Olympians will see one another before they march at the opening ceremonies next February.

Many athletes with medal potential are taking advantage of the COC's Excellence Series and the media exposure. Among others who will be in the Olympic hothouse: alpine skiers Erik Guay, Kelly VanderBeek and Emily Brydon; bobsleigh pilot, Helen Upperton; curling skips Randy Ferby and Jennifer Jones;figure skaters Patrick Chan and Joannie Rochette; women's hockey veterans Jdennifer Botterill and Jayna Heford; breakthrough luger Alex Gough; short trackers Olivier Jean and brothers Charles and Francois Hamelin; the long track armada of Kristina Groves, Denny Morrison and Jeremy Wotherspoon; ski cross athletes Davey Barr, Chris DelBosco and Ashleigh McIvor; and snowboarders Maelle Ricker, Matthew Morison and Jeff Batchelor.