intoronto

1. 8/10
Canada had its most successful non-boycotted SOG in terms of gold medals (7, tied with 92) and total medals (24). However, there were some notable disappointments.
 
2. Surprises: W8 gold medal in rowing.  They've historically done well in the event, but were not gold medal favourites going in.  Women's soccer getting gold was amazing, especially beating the US in the semis for revenge for having 2012 stolen from them by a corrupt ref.  Mitchell winning gold in track sprint on the last day was a great ending, and Genest getting Keirin bronze previously bodes well for our sprint track cycling team moving forward.  Seeing our big stars from Rio, Penny Oleksiak and Andre De Grasse succeed again was great.  
 
Disappointments: Women's beach volleyball.  In a matter of a couple of hours we went from looking forward to a possible all Canada semifinal to having both our teams lose quite easily in the quarters.  Women's basketball and rugby teams were supposed to be medal threats and didn't even make it out of group play.  This was the first SOG with no wrestling medals in a very long time.  In boxing, Mandy Bujold fought so hard to be there through arbitration and courts just to be completely outmatched in her first round.  One medal in diving, with only one individual diver making it to a final, was a big disappointment.  
 
Overall, Canada historically has an issue with finishing 4th.  There have been quite a few articles written about it in the past, and as a nation we always try to figure out why.  This time I believe we got 12 4ths, along with 3 other bronze medal losses (in combat sports, so technically you finish 5th).  That's 15 near misses for a country that got 24 actual medals.  I'm not sure about this year, but it has been proven in many other Olympics that Canada gets the most 4th/5th places with regard to their actual medal count. Some of these 4ths were shocks (men's 4x100 freestyle relay) and some were due to injury (Rosie in trampoline), but it's still incredibly frustrating as a Canadian sports fan.  Some will say it's a sign of how powerful the whole team is among a variety of sports, but you start to believe your country just lacks the killer instinct to get to the top.   
 
So that's why I only gave an 8/10.  There was a point where Canada had more 4th places than gold+silver+bronze, and we were getting 2 a day with no medals. In the end the numbers got better, but it was frustrating for a bit.  
 
3. Canada had no stated goal, but I'd think breaking medal records probably does it.  
 
4.  Idk which sports will get more funding, but one of our banks (RBC) had a development program for athletes that showed promise.  Many of them had fantastic results - Kelsey Mitchell won track cycling gold and she just took up the sport in 2017 due to this program!  Her teammate Lauriane Genest is also part of this program and got a bronze.  Another member, Avalon Wasteneys, got gold as part of the W8 rowing team.  Pierce Lepage finished 5th in decathlon (same spot as Warner in his first Olympics).  They're already looking for more athletes to support for Paris, so I can see this continuing to be a huge success.  

Like what's the point in watching top level sports if you truly believe all the top contenders are cheaters?

JOC gave approval... I think it's the front runner and SLC for 2034. 

Remember gender equality doesn't apply to men.... as long as women are equal or more its fine in the eyes of Mr Fencing gold medalist 1976

I think gender equality is by sport. So gymnastics is equal in that regard.

I think gender equality is by sport. So gymnastics is equal in that regard.

Who here is finding themselves rewatch various medals by Canada?  Upon my return to Beijing I moved into a new apartment with a giant smart TV so I broadcast all the medals all the time from CBC's site these past few days.  I can't believe I missed W8's gold, I knew they were doing great (look up my posts about them in the heats).  I was supposed to watch on a train, but there were complications about getting into the station and the covid outbreak I mentioned.  It drained my phone, my time and my patience, so read about it hours later.  I've enjoyed it several times on my new TV now.  
 
 

Looks like Mali might be a force in women's basketball in the future. Silver in 2019, and looks like another medal here coming up.

Heaven's forbid the split is 51-49 or 52-48    Equal numbers in boxing, even though men have one more category 

It should now work?
 
We are going through a software update so there might be more bugs/problems in the next days, please report them here.
 
I can already tell you the latest replies box threads will not be bolded anymore for unread threads. There was already a bug before because threads remained bolded after the first time you opened them, so they decided to remove that feature at all and no threads will be bolded now

I hope the best hockey players are at the Olympics. We are almost there lol.

I really don't understand what people want.

If Russia wins everything, this sport is a mess, it should be removed from the Olympics, the world is doomed. If Russia loses the gold medal, this sport is a mess, it should be removed from the Olympics, the world is doomed.

74% of Canadians watched the Olympics
 
https://twitter.com/Devin_Heroux/status/1425102700954402818?s=19

I don't mind taking it on.
 
 

Amazing SOG for Canada.  There were disappointments, as there always are.  But there were also triumphs and unexpected surprises.  The women getting gold in soccer will be forever stamped onto Canadian sports history.  
 
I was occupied right at the end of the Games, having to cut my summer vacation short to return to Beijing as there is a covid outbreak in this country now and things have returned to high level (well, officially "medium" but it would be considered high level for others.  We're not getting locked into our apartments yet).  
 
I delayed going through security in the airport on my way back to watch Mitchell win her gold on my phone.  I watched the rowing pair get bronze at the feet of the largest stone Buddha in the world.  The women beat the US while I sunbathed by the pool in a rainforest environment.  I witnessed Maggie MacNeil get her gold in front of pandas at a breeding house.  China has problems, very serious problems, but it's a beautiful country.  
 
CBC had excellent coverage as usual.  Our athletes performed at unprecedented levels.  
 
Can't wait for Beijing 2022!  I'm here waiting!  Screw you covid, we better be able to go to the events.  That's a big reason why I took this job.  Countdown is on!  I'm so hyped right now!  

Most disgusting event in the Olympic history. Two individual events without individual medals, but rather with some fabricated mixed propaganda podium.

"Thirty-million cricket fans live in the USA"
 
That's obviously not even remotely true.

Never understood why the IOC can't overtake running weightlifting for 2024 like it did with boxing for 2020

Summer McIntosh in swimming (hopefully) 

1. Rate the performance on a scale of 1-10
 
8-9. Not perfect, but close too it. Room for growth.
 
2. What were the surprises and  heartbreaks ?
Surprises - I think all of the medals Canada won were more or less expected (or were a medal contender), the women's soccer team winning gold was a mild surprise for me. Non-medalist surprises: The emergence of 14 year old Summer McIntosh, which bodes well for the next quad (three years). Heartbreaks: Melissa Bishop going out in round 1 of the 800m, the women's basketball and rugby teams, which were medal contenders failed to get out of the group stage. The women's foil team also failing to medal was a heartbreak for me, I thought they would bring home Canada's first fencing medal.  Rose MacLeannan coming from a really bad injury 9 weeks before the games to finish fourth was hard to take, as was the women's diving 10m platform, same injury and less than a point for a medal (at least it saved Mexico from finishing fourth in all synchro events )
 
3. Was your country's goal achieved?
There was no goal set, but having the highest amount of medals in one games (excluding LA84 which was boycotted) + equaling the most gold in one edition (again excluding LA84) has to be considered as achieving (and perhaps exceeding) any goal that would have been set. 
 
4. Which are the sports that will be invested more in future? 
-Rowing/Swimming/Athletics need more funding to get more results. 
-Cycling (especially track) looks like its on the upswing.
-I fear wrestling will lose most if not all of its funding for the next 3 years.

So I just read on Instagram that Drew Mechielsen raced in Tokyo and made it to the final with a broken foot she didn't know about till after she got home. 

I don't mind taking it on.
 
 

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20210808/good-samaritan-who-helped-parchment-invited-jamaica

Never understood why the IOC can't overtake running weightlifting for 2024 like it did with boxing for 2020

I was looking at other nations numbers and Germany seems to have the exact same problem than us witch very similar numbers. Since 2012, on average, they have 'lost' 6 medals and 2.8 golds each winter and summer olympics vs the last world championships (-5.6 and -2.4 for France)
 
Now, we understand why @OlympicsFanis constantly angry.