Canada in the Winter Olympics - A Quick History
The country's greatest performance was recently at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where Canadian athletes won 26 medals—two more than the 24 they won in the previous Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy. Also at the 2010 Games, Canada set a new record for most gold medals won by a country in a single Winter Olympics with 14. This passes the previous record of 13 gold medals in one Games set by the Soviet Union in 1976 and matched by Norway in 2002.Canada has hosted the winter games twice, in Calgary in 1988, and in Vancouver in 2010. Hockey is Canada's national winter sport, and Canadians are extremely passionate about the game. The nation has traditionally done very well at the Olympic Games, winning 6 of the first 7 gold medals. However, by 1956 its amateur club teams and national teams could not compete with the teams of government-supported players from the Soviet Union. When Canada's best players (from the National Hockey League) were able to compete starting in 1998, expectations were high for the country's return to glory, but the Czech Republic won gold and the team fell to Finland in the bronze medal game. Canada finally won its first hockey gold in 50 years in Salt Lake City in 2002, sparking national celebrations. The women's team also won gold in 2002, after winning only silver in the first women's Olympic competition in Nagano. The women repeated as champions in 2006.The 2010 games are the first Olympics to take place in an NHL market since the league's players started to compete in the games, as Vancouver is home to the Canucks.FUN FACTS:Canada has sent 221 Athletes to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the largest team ever for a Winter Games and out of that 221, a record-breaking number of female athletes at 100. Nova Scotia has two Athletes competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games; Alexandra Duckworth (Snowboarding) and Sidney Crosby (Hockey). #teamcanada #sochi2014
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_at_the_Winter_Olympics
