As Canadian athletes prepare to travel to Italy for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, David Shoemaker says the Games could be good medicine for Canada.
At a time when the world is divided by politics, culture and conflict, and Canadians are stressed about affordability and sovereignty, the Olympic Games can uplift.
“The world is more complex than ever, and athletic competition feels just a little bit different now – just like the 4 Nations Face-off felt different,” said the Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer, recalling the patriotism stoked by Canada beating the U.S. last March in the showdown of hockey’s best that whetted the appetite for the Olympic tournament.
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Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
“I think the world needs these Games and it will be a great opportunity for Canadian athletes to inspire Canada and make us feel great about the country we live in. There are very few things that unite us the way Olympic and Paralympic sports do.”
While the return of NHL players to Olympic ice for the first time since 2014 will get top billing – especially Canadian superstars such as Connor McDavid – hockey won’t be the only thriller at the Games next month.
“I’m looking forward to what I would describe as the most breadth in Canadian Olympic Winter Games history,” said Shoemaker. “Across such a diverse number of sports, where we have really great medal potential.”
A visitor survival guide to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Canada’s Mikaël Kingsbury, the most successful moguls skier of all time, aims for the podium again at his fourth and final Games. Short-track speed skater William Dandjinou is already a four-time world champion but makes his highly anticipated Olympic debut. Long-track speed skaters Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais look to repeat their success from the 2022 Beijing Olympics in team pursuit and as individuals.
Four-time world champion short-track speed skater William Dandjinou will make his Olympic debut this year.
Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Long-track speed skaters Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais hope to repeat their gold-medal performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics at this year’s games.
Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press
The Games are spread across eight locations in northern Italy, and Canada’s 207 athletes could nab medals in many of them – from ice dance and men’s and women’s hockey in Milan, to curling in Cortina, ski cross events in Livigno, to alpine races in Bormio, or ski jumping in Predazzo.
So, how many medals is the COC predicting in Italy?
“We never try to pinpoint it, but our ambition is always to beat the last one,” said Shoemaker.
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Team Canada celebrates with their gold medals after defeating the U.S. in women’s hockey gold medal game at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Canada brought home 26 medals from the Beijing games.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Canada earned 26 medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics – four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze, good for fourth in the overall medal table behind Norway, the Russian Olympic Committee and Germany. Canada’s best overall Winter performance was at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, with 29 total medals.
Still, one worry is persistently simmering. The Canadian government has not increased core funding to its national sport organizations (NSOs) since 2005, despite pleas from the COC and Canadian Paralympic Committee, while costs to train and travel have skyrocketed.
Canadian Olympic Committee works to navigate a very spread out Winter Games in Italy
Canadian athletes have been doing more with less for a long time, earning medals despite the government investing far less in their training for many sports than some other competing nations. Many athletes have absorbed the financial burden themselves.
“I’ve been worried for some time that the lack of an increase in federal government funding for Canadian sport is something that will catch up with us at some point,” said Shoemaker. “And I dearly hope it’s not at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.”
The COC announced Team Canada 2035 on Monday, a new 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Canadian sport, with some $500-million in private investment over the next decade from the COC’s 39 marketing partners and donors. Shoemaker hopes the strategy sends a signal to the federal government that sport is worth the investment.
Among its goals, Team Canada 2035 aims to help Canada become a top five nation in combined medal count at both Summer and Winter Olympics.
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Canadian skier Jennifer Heil recives her gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin. Heil is Canada’s chef de mission for the Milano Cortina Olympics.JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
Canada’s chef de mission for the Milan Cortina Olympics, Jenn Heil, watched Olympians doing more with less during the run-up to the Games.
“The conditions in which these athletes are preparing and competing are so challenging. The NSOs, and the athletes are under so much financial stress,” said Heil.
“So the athletes and sport organizations are having to make tough decisions – to reduce training or reduce physio staff on the road, things that really matter in the longevity and the ability to respond under stress and be ready to perform at the Olympics. It’s incredible how much these athletes are doing with limited resources, and I think it’s going to be a great story in Italy.”
Heil’s value as the chef is sharing her own Olympic experiences with the athletes. The two-time Olympic medalist in moguls freestyle skiing competed in three Games, including the last one hosted by Italy – Turin 2006, where she took gold.
All the apprehension about venue readiness at Milan Cortina doesn’t faze Heil – from construction at the hockey rinks to snow-making on the ski hills. She remembers worries about venue readiness before Turin too, and it all worked out.
“There were cows on the moguls field two months before the Turin Olympics, so no, I’m not worried,” said Heil with a laugh. “The pressure is so high that you know that these things can tip you over, so the conversation I’ve been having with the athletes is ‘How do we use this to our advantage and let everyone else freak out?’”
Luc Tardif, IIHF President, speaks to reporters at the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, which will host hockey and ice dance events. Work continues on the venue in late January.
MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images; Luca Bruno/AP
Shoemaker concurs, saying he’s yet to be part of an Olympic Games where all venues haven’t been ready. He says the COC “draws cautious optimism” about the rink readiness from its conversations with International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif – a Canadian.
The COC also worked to alleviate concerns it had initially about the suitability of the athletes’ village in Cortina. The sliding, curling and alpine athletes competing in that cluster will stay in a temporary mobile home park in the mountains just popped up for the Games.
“We had some worry initially on concept,” said Shoemaker. “Which has been completely dispelled by our last site check that it was at a world-class standard and that it would be very suitable as an Olympic Village.”
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The Olympic village in Milan will soon host athletes from all over the world.Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images
Shoemaker and Heil are two of the few attending these Olympics who will travel between the competition clusters, widely spaced across northern Italy. The COC gathered many Olympic hopefuls in Montreal in July to discuss preparations for the unique sprawl of these Games. The COC will attempt to keep the team connected despite their different locations – by using Canadian lounges in the various athletes’ villages, or broadcasting competition highlights.
“We were intentional about trying to break down those barriers between sports,” said Heil. “But hey, we’re from Canada; we’re used to being separated by great distances and still feeling Canadian.”
