The summer Olympics are behind us for another four years. For a moment, we should put aside the upsets. The opening ceremony may or may not have depicted the Last Supper in way that may or may not have slighted Christianity. Two female boxers may or may not have had testosterone levels that were off the normal charts for women. Canada may or may not have underperformed when it came to medals.
Those are discussions for another day.
Now’s the time to thank all those young people who represented this country in such outstanding fashion throughout the Paris Games.
Most impressive was the irrepressible Summer McIntosh, who won four medals — three gold and a silver — in swimming. At just 17, she’s poised, gracious and modest in her triumph. She epitomizes all the qualities that make this country great. She stood tall on the podium and did us proud.
We congratulate Christa Deguchi, who won gold in judo and Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers, both of whom brought home gold for the hammer throw and Katie Vincent who won in canoeing. Our men won a breathtaking 4×100 metre relay, with stalwart Andre De Grasse holding off the world with a stunning anchor run. It was a brave, brilliant team effort.
Gold, silver or bonze, we applaud all our medal winners. We weren’t there for the years of early morning practices or lonely drives to the gym or the pool. We just basked in the reflected glory of all that hard work. We all cheered for you on the podium. We sang along with O Canada, but the triumph is all yours.
We weren’t there when you strained a muscle and fought through pain. We just enjoyed the spectacle of watching you represent this country on the most prestigious sporting stage in the world. We thank you for doing so with grace and courage.
Our women’s soccer team may have been let down by their coaches and other officials, but the players showed grit and determination in battling back from that adversity and put on their best performance under the circumstances.
It was a tragic for them after putting so much work into getting to the Olympics, only to be crushed by circumstances that had nothing to do with their playing ability.
We know they’ll come back from this with their heads high. They’ll be better. And they’ll win gold next time.
And all of Canada will be cheering when they do.