| Moguls athlete provides Games highlight |
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| Local Content - Editorial |
| Written by production |
| Thursday, 18 February 2010 18:14 |
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It did not take long this time around for a Canadian athlete to end an embarrassing drought for our country. In two separate Olympic Winter Games events, Montreal in 1976 and Calgary in 1988, the host country failed to win a single, solitary gold medal from any of the events. It was a black mark Canadian athletes had struggled with for years, and put increased pressure on this year’s athletes to deliver and break out in a big way. Alexandre Bilodeau quickly changed that, as the moguls athlete produced a long-awaited gold medal for Canada and in the process, hopefully brought this country a little closer together. For a Games that has been criticized for not including enough French-language content, right from the start at the opening ceremonies, an athlete from Montreal captured the imagination of all Canadians with an incredible run, worthy of its place in history. The victory celebration Monday night, which saw 22,000 pack the venue to the rafters, was unlike few other televised sporting moments. As our national anthem played to celebrate an Olympic gold medal at home for the first time in history, a distinct sense of pride could be felt. As Canadians, we are not often brash and outspoken when we celebrate most anything, let alone an Olympic gold medal. We typically do not celebrate wildly and wave our flag at every opportunity like our American cousins south of the border, whenever an athlete from the USA wins gold. But for one moment, Canada was on top, at home, in one of the most moving sporting events our country has known. Bilodeau will go down in history as a national hero for what he has accomplished, and rightfully so. Fortunately, Canada has since won gold in snowboarding cross, as our skiers and speedskaters produced disappointing results. So now, two Canadian athletes are at the top of their sports, and the nation is firmly behind them both. For all the unrest the Games has produced, in terms of social and financial concerns, for one moment, the Olympics were about what they were supposed to be about — the spirit of competition and the thrill of victory. |