Top Olympic Moments

March 4th, 2010

 

A crowd pleasing Olympics. Image – Jake McBride

The three Olympic values are excellence, friendship and respect, here are what Twenty Ten believes are the top ten examples of these values from the Vancouver 2010 winter Games:

  • Joannie Rochette’s skate
    She’s the 24 year old Canadian figure skater who stepped up to win a bronze medal despite the sudden death of her mother from a heart attack days before. CTV’s skating presenter declared her performance “under the circumstances, one of the best skates you will ever see.”
  • Jasey Jay Anderson’s gold
    Veteran Canadian parallel giant slalom rider Jasey-Jay has tried four previous times for an Olympic gold, the one accolade that has alluded him. At last, when he was just riding for himself, his moment came.

Shaun White and team mate, and bronze medal winner, Scott Lago. Image – Dan Himbrechts

  • Shaun White’s double mctwist 1260
    Only death, taxes and Shaun White winning Olympic gold in half pipe are certainties in this life. The Flying Tomato produced his infamous double mctwist 1260 – the signature move defies the rules of physics – for an astounding 48.4 out of 50 score.
  • Red mittens
    Canadians were urged to get themselves a pair of red Vancouver 2010 mittens and don them to show their support for their Olympic athletes. In the end more than 3.3 million pairs of the ubiquitous woollen mitts were sold to Olympic goers from all nations and they became a symbol, not just of Canadian support, but of the general Olympic experience and euphoria.

Unsuccessful, Austria’s Bennyy Raich in the slalom. Image – Dan Himbrechts

  • Unexpected alpine results
    Didier Defago began it when he claimed the Olympic downhill title from under the skis of favourites Didier Cuche, Bode Miller and Carlo Janka and Italian youngster and virtual skiing nobody Giuliano Razzoli finished it by taking out the slalom, denying heavy favourite Benny Raich a medal.
  • Volunteer cheer
    Over 18 000 volunteers across the Whistler and Vancouver Olympic sites kept the 2010 Games running and they did it with smiles on their faces. Despite sometimes poor weather and long hours on their feet, every volunteer was cheery, friendly and helpful; excellent representatives for Canada and Vancouver.

Volunteers at the Olympic half pipe in their blue jackets. Image – Jake McBride

  • Canada’s first gold in three Olympics and medal triumph
    Mogul skier Alexandre Bilodeau made history when he won Canada’s first home soil gold in the three Olympics hosted by the nation (summer Games Montreal, 1976 and winter Games Calgary, 1988). Canada eventually earned 14 gold, setting a new record for most gold medals won by a country at a single winter Games.
  • The Indo-Vancouver community banding together to buy the three Indians team uniforms and equipment
    When the Indian community in Vancouver heard the three representatives from their birth country had come to Vancouver without uniforms or equipment because the Indian government had not given them any funding it banded together to provide the two skiers and one lugist with what they needed – including a new luge for Shiva Keshavan, whose old luge was duct-taped together
  • Canada wide support for BK
    Canadians were up in arms when the International Olympic Committee told Australia to remove the giant Boxing Kangaroo flag displayed over the balconies of the athletes’ rooms in the Vancouver Athletes Village. Vancouver locals protested in the streets and the Mayor of Surry, British Columbia’s second largest city, offered to fly the BK flag for the Games’ duration if the Australians were forced to take it down. Vancouver city council officials also voiced their sport – saying it was a battle for community spirit over excessive regulation.

Hockey fans in Vancouver. Image – Dan Himbrechts

  • Canadian ice hockey mens team winning gold
    The ultimate of the ultimate moments, the 3 – 2 Canada victory over arch rivals the USA in the mens hockey, after seven minutes of aftertime – was the fairytale end to the Vancouver Games. The game itself was a thrilling and hard fought affair, and the result just incredible, Canada is celebrating still.