When you live in a country where winter can last up to nine months, sports are a great way to pass the time (and keep your internal body temperature up).
1. Canada winning Gold in the first Olympic hockey tournament... in the 1920 Summer Olympics.
#OnThisDay in 1920, #TeamCanada 🇨🇦 represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, played their first Olympic ice hockey game at Antwerp 1920 🏒 They defeated Czechoslovakia 15-0.🏆👏
Ice hockey predates the Winter Olympics themselves, first appearing in Antwerp in the 1920 Summer Games. There were no designated national team of players. Instead we sent the best club team at the time— the Winnipeg Falcons. And they did... pretty good in the Gold Medal game.
2. Barbara Ann Scott winning Canada's first non-hockey Gold Medal in 1948.
Barbara-Ann Scott became the first Canadian to ever win gold in figure skating at the Olympics. Tonight, Canadian figure skaters will take to the ice at #Beijing2022 starting at 9 PM ET
Canada's original sweetheart, Barbara Ann had to endure horrific ice conditions as the Zamboni had yet to be invented. She began a legacy of Canadian excellence in figure skating.
3. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win Gold (and our hearts) in 2018.
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Virtue and Moir already had Gold and Silver medals to their names coming into the 2018 games, but their final Olympic performance would be their masterpiece. Seriously, if you have not watched this routine— stop what you are doing and prepare yourself for an emotional journey in which time and space lose meaning and it's just you, Tessa, and Scott alone on the ice.
4. Salé and Pelletier get their Gold in Salt Lake... eventually.
The Salt Lake City scandal that rocked the figure skating world! In case you don't know the story, here's how a quid pro quo between Russia and France nearly stole a gold medal from Canada: https://t.co/3uuAqcrqDM
After being awarded the Silver despite a near flawless performance against a flawed Russian routine, we would learn the judging was stacked in the Russians favour. This would thankfully be corrected, giving Canada their first Gold medal in figure skating since 1960.
5. Cindy Klassen winning 5 medals in 2006.
Cindy Klassen accomplished a feat never achieved by a 🇨🇦 before when she won five medals at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin 🏅
Speed Skating is one of Canada's strongest sports. In 2006 Cindy Klassen made 5 separate trips to the podium to become the most decorated Canadian Olympian in a single game. Gotta go fast!
6. Team Canada's comeback Gold medal victory over the US in 2014.
Getting ready for another instalment of a truly great sports rivalry, and just re-watched the last five minutes and OT of the 2014 Olympic women's hockey gold medal game. Still don't know how Canada won this sucker. But what a night in Sochi this was - https://t.co/33qyMULHGD
Canada vs. USA in women's hockey is one of the greatest rivalries in sports. Since the women's game was added to the Olympics in 1998, every Gold medal final has come down to the two North American nations battling for supremacy. In 2014 Canada tied the game with under a minute left in regulation, and would go on to win it in overtime. Both goals were scored by perhaps the most clutch athlete in Canadian history, Marie-Philip Poulin! Here's hoping she can repeat this magic in Beijing.
7. Jasey Jay Anderson appearing in 6 different Winter Olympics.
Jasey-Jay Anderson has made Canada's Olympic snowboard team. It will be the 42-year-old's sixth Olympics. https://t.co/666oCvcllg
In what is often considered a young person's sport, snowboarder Jasey Jay Anderson made history in 2018 by appearing in his 6th Olympics at the age of 42! He first represented Canada all the way back in 1998. For perspective we've seen 3 Degrassi iterations since then.
8. Hayley Wickenheiser calling out Team USA in 2002.
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The legendary Canadian player turned doctor turned player development coach for the Maple Leafs had an all time chirp after defeating USA to win Gold for the first time in women's hockey. It's been disputed whether the Americans really had the Canadian flag on the floor of their dressing room, but this is more about the confidence and swagger Wick always brought to Team Canada
9. Jon Montgomery enjoying a pitcher of beer after winning Gold in 2010.
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Not only did Jon Montgomery win Gold in the scariest sport of all, Skeleton, he washed it down with an ice cold brew dog handed to him in the crowd. Probably the best tasting pitcher of Kokanee ever chugged.
10. Hidy and Howdy, mascots for the 1988 games in Calgary.
Give a big hi and howdy to Hidy and Howdy 😁 The adorable mascots for Calgary 1988 are two polar bears dressed in western style outfits! Pretty cute, right? 🤠 #OlympicMascots
Speaking of scary, this brother-sister polar bear duo were chosen to represent Calgary and Canada's west back in '88. They are giving me Zellers meets Calgary Stampede which is pretty damn Canadian when you think about it.
11. Mark McMorris overcomes devastating injury to return to the podium in 2018.
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After nearly dying in a snowboard crash, McMorris would make the trip to Pyeongchang in 2018 just 11 months after the accident. Not only was he able to compete but he was able to capture his second Olympic bronze medal. Just a few days ago he picked up his third consecutive bronze medal in Beijing proving he hasn't lost a step in 4 years.
12. Gold Medals for both Men and Women Curling Teams in 2010.
13. Clara Hughes becomes first Canadian to win a medal in the Summer and Winter Olympics.
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After winning two bronze medals in cycling back in 1996, Clara Hughes decided she needed a new challenge. She would go on to win 4 medals in speed skating between 2002 and 2010. On top of all that, she is a vocal advocate for mental health initiatives. Maybe take some time off for a bit Clara, you're making us all look bad.
14. The 2002 Men's Hockey Team ends a 50 year drought.
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Between 1920 and 1952 Canada won six of seven possible gold medals at the Olympics. This would change as the Soviet Union rose to power, dominating men's hockey for decades. Finally in 2002, with a stacked roster hand picked by Wayne Gretzky— Canada would defeat their rival USA and win Gold, fifty years to the day after their last win. Fifty years of losing erased in an instant.
15. Hosting the Winter Olympics for the first time in 1988.
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Calgary '88 was a bit of a letdown at the podium for Canada, where we only earned 5 medals, and none of them Gold. The games themselves however were a rousing success for Canadian winter sports as a whole. The facilities built for these games would go on to serve as training hubs for Canadian athletes and helped to shine a spotlight on their development. Canada would increase their medal count at each subsequent Winter Olympics, culminating in Vancouver in 2010. Plus how can you not love this deliciously '80s theme song?
16. Alexandre Bilodeau winning the first Gold medal on Canadian soil.
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Aside from hockey, freestyle skiing has historically been Canada's strongest sport at the Winter Olympics. Fitting then that the first Gold won on Canadian soil by a Canadian athlete would come in this thrilling run from Alexandre Bilodeau. In the attached clip you can hear the crowd chanting his name in support. Nothing like home field advantage.
17. Crosby's Golden Goal in Vancouver 2010.
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One of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history. Overtime game against the US in Canada— with the golden boy scoring the golden goal. I think all Canadians remember exactly where they were when Iginla passed to Crosby and he shot it past Ryan Miller. This would be the final medal awarded in Vancouver and for Canadians it was perhaps the sweetest one of all.
18. Canada Breaks the record for Gold medals at a Winter Olympics in 2010.
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If Calgary 1988 was the beginning of Canada's journey up the mountain, Vancouver 2010 was the peak. In total Canada finished with 14 Gold Medals, more than any country had ever won at a Winter Olympics. To accomplish that on home turf no less, makes it the pinnacle of Canadian Winter Olympic glory.
Winter may be cold and sometimes miserable, but these classic moments help distract us from the frostbite and lack of sunlight.
Is there a favourite moment of yours that I missed? Would my list make your list of top lists of Canadian Olympic moments? Let me know in the comments!