medals

ANDREW COYNE: Why are our women Olympians doing so much better than the men?

ANDREW COYNE: We have all, to a greater or lesser extent, undergone a change in national temperament

A boisterous home crowd propels Canada’s female speed skaters

A success-hungry nation gets fed.

Newsmakers

A look at 50 Canadian Olympians with podium potential

It’s not exactly a monsoon, but Canada’s medal “drought” is over. In the course of an hour this afternoon, rowers Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen won silver in the men’s pair, Carol Huynh, struck gold in 48 kg women’s wrestling, and before she could even make it through the media interview zone, team mate Tonya Verbeek, won her bronze medal bout.

The only thing more predictable than Canada’s slow start at the Summer Games, is the hand-wringing reaction back home. Once every four years, Canadians sit down in front of their TVs with a beer and a bag of chips, and wonder why their athletes aren’t topping the podium. The “Why do We Suck?” stories start popping up in the papers, and so do the tables comparing our medal showing to say, the Marshall Islands, or maybe just Michael Phelps.