The Sydney Morning Herald called it a moment of “national despair” for Canada when the men’s sledge hockey team lost 3-1 to Japan in the semifinals at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.
The heavily favoured Canadians outscored the opposition 19-1 in the round robin, but finished a heart-breaking fourth overall.
But seven years after the fact, Todd Nicholson sees Vancouver as a victory of a different kind in his new role as chef de mission for the 2018 Canadian Paralympic team.
“Yes, we weren’t successful on the ice as a hockey team in terms of we didn’t come home with a medal,” says Nicholson, who retired from the national team after the 2014 Games in Sochi. “But every Canadian knew what Paralympic sport was from the winter side of things. I took home from those Games that I would never, ever have to explain what sledge hockey was again.
“People know what it is now. They know what alpine skiing is for people with disabilities. They know it’s not two people who are visually impaired going down a hill really slow. These guys are coming down the hill at 125-130 km/hr. They’re not legally allowed to drive, but they’re on the ski hill.”
With the next three Olympic and Paralympic Games in Asia, Nicholson is calling on Canadians to channel that passion from Vancouver to supporting the Para-athletes in PyeongChang, South Korea (2018), Tokyo (2020) and Beijing (2022).
“Yes, it is a totally different time zone and the other side of the world,” Nicholson says. “And we’re hopefully going to be able to capitalize on the opportunity for Canadians who are living in those nations to really support our athletes. But more importantly, we need our Canadians here back home to support our athletes. If there are some from your community, get to know them and really try to support them in any way you can.”
Thursday marks a year until the opening ceremonies for the PyeongChang Paralympics. And while Nicholson and his team will wait to formulate an objective in terms of medals, early signs are encouraging. Canada reached the podium 11 times at the 2017 para-alpine world championships and seven times at the world para-Nordic championships.
The Canadian sledge team is coming off a commanding 8-1 victory over Norway Saturday for gold at the 2017 International Para Hockey Tournament in Turin, Italy. Tyler McGregor, of Forest, Ont., led the way with a hat trick and two assists.
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Brady Leman wants to change the narrative on his ski cross career at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The hard-luck Canadian broke his leg in training at the Vancouver Olympics. Four years later in Sochi, he finished fourth in a controversial final: the Canadians claimed an illegal alteration had been made to the pants worn by Frenchmen Jean-Frederic Chapuis (gold), Arnaud Bovolenta (silver) and Jonathan Midol (bronze).
But Leman, 30, finished the 2016-17 World Cup season ranked second overall, and the 2016 X-Games champion is determined to reach the podium at the upcoming world championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
“It’s great to see all the hard work pay off and ride it through a whole season,” says Leman, who won gold Sunday at a World Cup stop in Ontario. “To carry the momentum through the season with one race to go, that’s pretty exciting.”
But Leman is the first to say Marielle Thompson is the undisputed star of the Canadian ski-cross team.
“She’s just so consistent that it’s unbelievable, “ Leman said. “I don’t think people appreciate that it’s not so easy for her. She wins so often that people expect it. She earns her wins. They’re not just handed to her. She has to work for it, and people forget that. It’s pretty inspiring to watch someone so dominant. She carries this team on her back.”