Make No Apologies, Canada

Since the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during an Olympic training run at Blackcomb last week, Canadians everywhere have had to defend ourselves – and the maple leaf, which was once so synonymous with the courtesy of our national character – against claims that we’re unsportsmanlike – that we’re cheaters.

Although there is plenty of blame to go around in the death of Kumaritashvili, the world needs to recognize that Canada’s goal to succeed at the Vancouver Olympics is not blind ambition, but a show of passion for sport and country, which is a welcome change for the nation and an example for the world.

Foreign press have been quick to judge the Own the Podium program, a massive $100 million spending venture designed to make Canada the top nation at the Vancouver Games. In Martin Samuel’s column for the UK publication the Daily Mail, he calls out the program as being a “perversion of the Olympic movement for national gain; made by a culture of worthless aggrandisement and pride.”

What many onlookers don’t seem to understand is that Canada’s step up at these Olympics isn’t about dominating the rest of the sporting world; it’s a coming-out party for a country that is only now starting to realize its true potential on the world stage.

Although sport has always been a rallying point for our nation, the last 30 years have really seen Canada shoot up as a real contender in world competitions. The 1972 Summit Series, in which Canada battled the Soviets for hockey supremacy, has become a defining moment in our history.

As a country that has often exported its talent – athletic, artistic, or otherwise – to the United States, being able to win in front of the world was a huge step forward. Programs like Own the Podium are crucial to ensuring that Canada’s talent will continue to grow within our own borders.

Maybe even worse than the allegations against the spirit of Own the Podium are the claims that it is directly responsible for Kumaritashvili's tragic death. In Samuel’s column, he also states that Olympic organizers gave an unfair advantage to Canadian lugers by giving them far more access to the track for training purposes. “For the best, it merely puts them at a competitive disadvantage; for the less talented it is potentially fatal,” he writes.

Samuel seems to ignore the fact that the International Luge Federation has standards to avoid this; according to officials, VANOC gave each athlete more than the required number of runs down the track.

That’s not to say that the track’s challenging design was not partially to blame for the crash – it has been called, by many athletes, the fastest in the world – but to pin a horrific death on the collective Canadian spirit is, frankly, ridiculous.

Despite the blips that have plagued the first week of this Olympics, and the horrible accident which tops them all, Canadians are not hiding their faces; actually, the response of spectators and viewers has been nothing but passionate. According to a Canwest News article by Alex Strachan, two out of three Canadians tuned in to watch the opening ceremonies – a record audience – becoming the second most-watched ceremonies in Olympic history.

People have embraced these games, decking themselves out in jerseys and flocking to BC in hopes of watching or volunteering. Several UK journalists have already commented that the passionate attitude of Canadians is something 2012 London Olympic planners should aim to match.

While Kumaritashvili’s death is far more than just a bump in the road, he was not a victim to Canadian national spirit or to the goals set by Own the Podium. The crash that occurred at Blackcomb will forever be remembered as an Olympic tragedy, but to sensationalize his death by labeling him a casualty of Canadian national spirit is unfair to his memory, and to our country.

So pick yourselves up, Canada. Dust off your jerseys and get back to the task of cheering on the home team like no country has before.