21. Olympic Winter Games
Olympic Medals in the games of 2010 in Vancouver
258 Medals in 15 Sports in 86 Events
Vancouver was the third Canadian city to host the Olympic Games from February 12-28, after Montreal in 1976 and Calgary in 1988. Canada had failed to win a gold medal in the previous two games at home. That should change in 2010! Canada was redeemed on the third day of the competition: Alexandre Bilodeau won the mogul freestyle skiing. Another thirteen gold medals should follow! With fourteen gold medals, Canada even took first place in the medal table for the first time in Olympic history!
The Indian culture of the First Nations was integrated into the torch relay as well as the opening ceremony. But there were also some tribes that protested against the Olympic Games. The others transported the torch with traditional canoes, dog sleds, on horseback, on foot, on snowmobiles and other means of transportation. The torch was transported 45,000 across Canada.
The final training was scheduled a few hours before the opening ceremony, the competition should start on the first day of the competition. Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili already had 144 km / h after turning fifteen. Then the route went up slightly to the target curve number sixteen. Due to a driving error, he first hit the inner gang, causing his toboggan to be thrown up and Nodar Kumaritashvili to be thrown on the opposite outside with his back and the back of his head against a steel girder of the railway roof. There was a terrible crash, as a television viewer you could not imagine that he would survive. He officially died on the way to Whistler's hospital. After the accident, officials said the toboggan run was too fast. The start was moved 176 meters and two turns down, boards were placed between the iron girders of the railway roof so that such a tragic accident could not happen again.
The Norwegian Marit Björgen was at the height of her Olympic career. In Vancouver she achieved her best result with three gold and one silver and bronze medal. From 2002 to 2018 she won a total of fifteen medals, eight in gold, four in silver and three in bronze. She is the most successful athlete in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. She is ahead of her compatriots the biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen and the cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie. Currently there are only six athletes who were successful at the summer games ahead of her in the eternal success statistics.
Ski jumper Simon Ammann was able to repeat his double victory from 2002 in Salt Lake City. He is second behind the Finn Matti Nykänen in his sport.
There were two premieres in Calgary. Latvian speed skater Haralds Silovs was the first athlete in Olympic history to compete in two different sports on one day: speed skating and short track. He won no medal. The second premiere was the participation of Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever, who already took part in the Paralympic Games in 2002 and 2006 with his visual impairment. However, he was never used by his head coach in any race.