Winter olympics
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2008
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From: SoCal
i agree I also hear them talk about lots of athletes that train in Canada all of the time ie: Apallo Ohno, Shani Davis also i knew one of the guys on the German hockey team tonight he is from Beaverlodge Alta i used to party with him. I guess if I had a chance to go to the olyimpics i would go to even if it was for another country but i would feel durrty about it like the durrty you feel after a hooker leaves your hotel room.
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 21,095
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From: Toronto, GTA north
Just curious what other people's thoughts are on this. I've been watching the Olympics religiously since the beginning and over the last week I've seen a number of Canadian coaches coaching athletes from other Countries. What is everyone's thoughts on that? Personally, if I was a Coach, I do not think I could Coach an international athlete to compete against my own Country. Thoughts?
Now, to me, it is definitely a different scenario between coaching, being an elite athlete in your prime and an average athlete with no hope of being on one of our many teams.
For coaches like Brian Orser and Alex Baumann, it's a career choice and one I think I might make if I were in a similar situation. I just don't know.
I recently was fortunate enough to listen to Alex speak at our local R.O.W. Swim Club (where Alex once trained with Victor Davis). In his speech, among other things, he explained how/why he went to Australia to start a family and work with their nations swimming program. For him it was a great career opportunity and a great place to start raising a family. Thankfully he has recently returned to Canada and is now living in Ottawa. He is Chief Technical Director of the Own The Podium initiative.
For elite athletes in their prime, (Dale Begg-Smith) leaving there homeland and competeing for another country is wrong. I know his coaches here told him they were not happy with his choice of running his buisness over the amount of time he spent training but he probably could have managed to meet the same requirements as his team mates for the sake of performing for his country not just himself.
I don't begruge athletes that would never have a chance at the podium or even making it on to one of our many national teams. If someone has played in the German/Euro hockey league for years then I think it's ok to play for the German national team if selected. The way I see it, If they were really great they would still be at home and still be playing for a team in Cananda so they are likely not a threat anyway. The one thing I do appreciate is that almost all of the Canadian hockey players called hockey Canada to ask if they would mind. That tells me they are still very much Canadian at heart and haven't forgotton where they come from.
We Canadians have also accepted quite a few new citizens over the years, who were also elite athletes that competed for us in the Olympic games but we did not seem to mind.
I didn't realize, until last night, that Heatly was born in Germany. I'm glad his family moved to Calgary when he was young.
Your correct we take on other countrys athaletes with no problem like the US ski crosser that was kicked off the US team. Lyndon Rush has Lucelies Brown on his four man and two man team Brown also won a Silver medal with Luders, and he is a Jamacan. So it does go both ways
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 30,233
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From: Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada
^ Yep, and the number of gold medals is how the IOC officially ranks the medal standings. Officially we are tied for 1st place with the US and Germany.
