Canada athletes returned from Beijing after winning 26 medals in the 2022 Winter Olympics. They ranked fourth in total medals among all countries.
The host of Olympic Winter Games Primetime, Scott Russell, says Canada’s performance was incredible due to the pandemic. “They did particularly well in the new sports.”
Toronto-based host and content creator for CBC Sports, Jacqueline Doorey, says Max Parrot’s gold medal in the men’s slopestyle was a great moment. “To see him have that moment after he was diagnosed with cancer was a really special story.”
Long track speed skater Isabelle Weidemann was one of Canada’s best athletes in the Winter Olympics, winning three medals. “She came in as a really big favorite and she stepped up,” said Doorey.
Canada’s short-track speed skating team won gold in the 5000 m relay. The team included Charles Hamelin, Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion, Jordan-Pierre Gilles, and Maxime Laoun. This gave Hamelin his sixth Olympic medal, tying a Canadian record with Cindy Klassen.
Canada’s Women’s Hockey Team defeated the United States by a score of 3-2 to reclaim gold. Brianne Jenner was named the tournament MVP. She scored a team-leading nine goals in the tournament.
James Crawford won bronze in the alpine combined event. “My most memorable moment was watching 24-year-old James Crawford, the alpine skier from the Georgia Ski Club,” says Russell. “He won that bronze medal, it looked like he was going to maybe even get gold, it was very close.”
“I have to say that Norway was very impressive,” says Russell. Norway finished at the top of the medal table, winning 37 in total, 16 of which were gold, setting a new record of gold medals won at the Winter Olympics.
“There were a number of shockers you know,” says Russell. “One that shocked everybody was the 15-year-old figure skater, Kamila Valieva.” Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication. She was also abused and mishandled as a minor by the International Olympic Committee.
Valieva had been the favorite to win coming into the Women’s Singles Event. However, several technical issues in her performance led to a fourth-place finish.
COC Director of Communications and Media Relations, Thomas Hall, says it was an awful case that felt heartbreaking. “It was a young girl put in an awful situation.”
“We take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-doping,” says Hall. “If someone is found to have actually violated the doping code, they’re not on the team anymore.”