Canadian Review | Canada saw life through rose-tinted glasses

(Paris) Before the opening ceremony on the Seine on July 26, after a press conference where faces were as dejected as a drifting drone, Bruny Surin had the mandate to whip the Canadian troops in the Athletes’ Village.

The head of mission drew on his own experience for inspiration. His symbol: a witness of a relay race that he uses in his conferences. His message: we are united, we are a team, we are one.

A little over two weeks later – and a few sleepless nights – Surin felt like he had just stepped out of a movie. A choral film in which each of the actors had played their part to the best of their abilities. Happy roles, sometimes dramatic.

“If someone had written the script, I would have said: ‘Well, don’t exaggerate!'” said the former sprinter after the final press conference of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) in Paris on Sunday morning.

Swimmer Summer McIntosh, who arrived the same day from Toronto, and hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg, who was returning from a training camp in Slovakia, posed with their medals around their necks a few hours before carrying the Maple Leaf flag at the closing ceremony at the Stade de France.

“I honestly don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” McIntosh, winner of three gold medals and a silver in individual events, said candidly.

“Just because it’s been such a whirlwind and roller coaster of emotions. When you’re competing you’re so focused on the job at hand that you have to put your emotions aside and try to keep a cool head.”

Between the aquatic exploits of the soon-to-be 18-year-old teenager and the golden throw of the likeable 22-year-old British Columbian, the Canadian team experienced, “as is the case at every Olympic Games, ups and downs, many surprises, joys and sorrows,” summarized COC President Tricia Smith.

In the medal count, Canada had not done so well since the 1984 Games boycotted by the Eastern Bloc: 27 in total, 9 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze. The Russian (and Belarusian) athletes were not in Paris either, but it is hard to believe that their presence would have changed the count downward by more than one or two podiums — and even then.

Sport chief Eric Myles added that the contingent had 49 top-five finishes, proving that the margin between “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” is often slim. With four fourth-place finishes, Quebec swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey is the best person to testify to that.

“Canadians won medals in 15 different sports, which is a record,” Myles said.

The challenges

Asked again about the soccer drone spying scandal, “which tarnished the start of the Games” for Canada, CEO David Shoemaker reiterated his willingness to fully cooperate with Canada Soccer’s external investigation and any other government review, if warranted.

“Almost three weeks later, I feel like the athletes, including the women’s soccer players, have done a tremendous amount of good to address this situation with what they’ve done on the competition field,” Shoemaker said.

Amid the turmoil, COC senior officials paid particular attention to the women’s soccer tournament, attending all three games held outside Paris. Bruny Surin demanded to be present at the second, played in Saint-Étienne. During the day, he waited for the green light before addressing the players at the hotel.

He recalled his own experience at the 1996 Games, where he overcame personal disappointment in the individual event to rally behind his teammates in a relay that was far from being favored against the Americans, whom they won. The chef de mission drew a fictitious starting line on the ground, indicating that the troop was starting the tournament two steps behind the others.

“What are you doing? Do you give up or do you go all the way? You are fighters, we are here to support you.”

After conceding the first goal to France, Canada came from behind to win 2-1. Invited to accompany the players on the bus back to the hotel, Surin said he received positive reactions and thanks. “To me, that’s worth a medal.”

Canada shines

Another highlight for Surin was Maude Charron’s silver medal, a competition he watched sitting in the row in front of the weightlifter’s family. At the end of the competition, there was a moment of uncertainty after China’s Luo Shifang, who already had the victory in her pocket, skipped her final lift.

The chef de mission made sure that the athlete from Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer was indeed on the podium before turning back to the family, who he found a little too stoic.

“She won the silver medal? Then they say yes. I say: ‘Damn… let’s celebrate!'”

The 1999 world sprint runner-up has not yet recovered from his 4x100m relay victory, which left him unable to sleep at night. Naturally reserved, he remembers getting up from his seat to cheer on the first runner, Aaron Brown, who was passing in front of him. Brown responded with a confident wave of his hand.

The historic race that followed, concluded by a reborn Andre De Grasse, will forever mark the man who had aspired to become chef de mission since 2012: “It’s a dream that I’m living, I’m literally going crazy!”

Bruny Surin had his witness signed by the members of the relay before passing it on to them symbolically for posterity. “Grandpa, with the white beard, with the new generation!”

The curtain falls on the Olympic Games, which made the athletes in red see life through rose-tinted glasses.