Winter wonderland

Canadians struttin’ their stuff in Sochi

By Jerrison Oracion, Contributor

The first week of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games created a lot memorable moments for Canada and the world in general, and the second week has done the same. With no major happenings to interrupt the games, the world has been able to focus on the events themselves.

In figure skating, Patrick Chan got a silver medal in the men’s event despite faltering three times during his free skate when he was trying to beat the score of Japan’s Yuzuru Hanu, who got a world record score in his short program by 101.45 points. When he was interviewed after, Chan apologized to Canada because he did not get a gold medal: “I’m disappointed, of course. All Canadians say sorry, but I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself. I had that chance and I didn’t grasp it. I can’t thank Canada enough for the support I’ve had over the years.”

In the ice dancing event, the United States’ Meryl Davis and Charlie White picked up the gold medal instead of Canada’s pairing of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who snagged silver. And since it just wouldn’t be figure skating if there wasn’t some controversy, amidst the usual rumours of judges conspiring to give a certain team the gold, it has been noted by many the unique relationship the Canadian and American duos shared: Marina Zueva acts as the coach for both. It wasn’t an issue in 2010, but this time around, the Canadians seemed a little miffed, “We sometimes felt like [Zueva] wasn’t in our corner,” said Moir. All the same, a silver is something to be proud of.

In women’s hockey, Canada beat the United States 3-2 to claim the gold medal, thanks to Marie-Phillip Poulin’s overtime goal in a thrilling finish. As for the men, they came home with a gold after dispatching of the US in the semis before winning against the Swedes in the final.

In curling, Canada’s women’s team, which consists of Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Dawn McEwen, Jill Officer, and Kirsten Wall, beat Sweden 6-3 to earn the gold medal to finish the Olympics with an astonishing 11-0 record. The men’s team made sure they were up to snuff as well, defeating Great Britain 9-3 in their gold medal game.

In some other events, Denny Morrison got a bronze medal in speed skating 1500m; Jan Hudec got a bronze medal in alpine skiing super-G; Dominique Maltais got a silver medal in snowboard cross; Canada’s women’s short-track speed skating team got another silver medal after China’s was disqualified; Mike Riddle got a silver medal in ski halfpipe; and Kallie Humphries and Heather Moyse got another gold medal in bobsleigh. All in all it was a strong showing for Canada at the Olympics, and one that the whole country can be proud of.