On April 6, 2008, Canada’s biggest Olympic trials wrapped up at a swimming pool in Montreal. This was the final competition for swimmers hoping to take the next logical step in their sporting careers. As for many other Canadian athletes, competing at the Olympic Games is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest. It is simply the biggest show on…
Douglas Brown
Douglas Brown is an associate professor of sport history at the University of Calgary.
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Douglas Brown
Canada has a strange and dubious distinction in the arena of international sport. It is the only country to have hosted the Olympic Games (summer or winter) without winning a single gold medal. Being successful hosts is one thing; being successful athletic participants is quite another. Over the past 30 years, our role at the Olympics has generated considerable public debate over the need—and the methods—to end up on the…