Olympic rings

Vancouver 2010

Team Canada Medal Count

Gold medal icon 14
Silver medal icon 7
Bronze medal icon 5

Flag Bearers

Opening Ceremony

Closing Ceremony

Games Summary

XXI Olympic Winter Games

Vancouver became Canada’s third Olympic host city after winning the vote on the second ballot over PyeongChang, South Korea. But unlike the first two times the Olympic Games came to Canada when the host nation went without a gold medal, this time there were a record number of trips to the top of the podium. Canada’s 14 gold medals were the most ever won by one country at a Winter Games while the 26 total medals was a Canadian high.

Individual Women's figure skating

Already the only athlete to ever win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Games, Clara Hughes was given the honour of carrying the Canadian flag into the Opening Ceremony. She went on to earn her sixth career Olympic medal, a bronze in long track speed skating’s 5000m, tying her as Canada’s most decorated Olympian. Figure skater Joannie Rochette was selected to carry the flag at the Closing Ceremony, having shown incredible fortitude in winning bronze just days after the sudden death of her mother who had travelled to Vancouver to watch her compete.

Canadian skier celebrating

It was freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau who became the answer to a trivia question as Canada’s first ever Olympic gold medallist on home soil. His moguls victory came one day after defending women’s champion Jennifer Heil captured silver. Snowboarder Maëlle Ricker found her own place in the history books as the first Canadian female athlete to win Olympic gold at home. The Games were capped by the “Golden Goal”, as Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner against the United States, sending people from coast to coast onto the streets to celebrate. It was a golden sweep for Canadian hockey after the women’s team had won their third straight Olympic gold on the strength of two goals by Marie-Philip Poulin.

Sidney Crosby celebrates his golden goal at the Vancouver 2010 hockey final

 

Canada’s only double gold medallist of the Games was short track speed skater Charles Hamelin, who won both within a 30-minute span. First came the 500m, in which he shared the podium with teammate François-Louis Tremblay who won bronze. The duo were then part of Operation Cobra as the 5000m relay team, which included Hamelin’s brother François, used a unique strategy to get the victory. The medals brought Tremblay’s career total to five, tying him as Canada’s most decorated male Olympian. There were also two silver medals from the women’s team, as Marianne St-Gelais finished second in the 500m on her 20th birthday and was then part of the 3000m relay. St-Gelais also gained a lot of international attention when she hopped onto the padded rink boards to kiss and celebrate with boyfriend Hamelin after his 500m win.

Charles Hamelin kisses his girlfriend

In his fourth Olympic appearance, veteran snowboarder and multiple world champion Jasey-Jay Anderson finally won his first Olympic medal, taking gold in the parallel giant slalom. It was Canada’s second gold medal in just 10 minutes, following the men’s team pursuit on the long track speed skating oval. There was a third gold on that penultimate day of the Games as the men’s curling team, skipped by Kevin Martin, defeated Norway in a reversal of fortunes for Martin from 2002. The women’s curling team, skipped by Cheryl Bernard, ended up with silver after dropping the final to Sweden.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir figure skating

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir turned all Canadians into ice dance fans with their stunning free skate to Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 that made them Canada’s first ever Olympic champions in the event. On the long track oval, Christine Nesbitt delivered on expectations to win gold in the 1000m while Kristina Groves won a pair of medals to bring her career total to four. Ashleigh McIvor won gold in the only event making its Olympic debut, ski cross. Mike Robertson added a silver in snowboard cross.

Freestyle Skier mid-air

Events at the Whistler Sliding Centre had gotten off to a troubling start with the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during training prior to the Opening Ceremony. A week later, the skeleton athletes took to the track and Jon Montgomery came through with Canada’s second straight gold medal in the men’s event. The bobsleigh team followed suit, with Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse leading a 1-2 finish with Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown in the women’s event while Lyndon Rush piloted his crew to bronze for Canada’s first four-man medal since 1964.

Athlete celebrating

 

Canadian Medallists

Event Athlete Finish Sport
Two-Man - WomenKaillie Humphries, Heather MoyseGoldBobsleigh
MenKevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert Adam EnrightGoldCurling
Ice Dance - MixedTessa Virtue, Scott MoirGoldFigure Skating
Moguls - MenAlexandre BilodeauGoldSkiing - Freestyle
Ski Cross - WomenAshleigh McIvorGoldSkiing - Freestyle
MenPatrice Bergeron, Dan Boyle, Martin Brodeur, Sidney Crosby, Drew Doughty, Marc-André Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla, Duncan Keith, Roberto Luongo, Patrick Marleau, Brenden Morrow, Rick Nash, Scott Niedermayer, Corey Perry, Christopher Pronger, Mike Richards, Brent Seabrook, Eric Staal, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews, Shea WeberGoldIce Hockey
WomenMeghan Agosta, Gillian Apps, Tessa Bonhomme, Jennifer Botterill, Jayna Hefford, Haley Irwin, Rebecca Johnston, Becky Kellar, Gina Kingsbury, Charline Labonté, Carla MacLeod, Meaghan Mikkelson, Caroline Ouellette, Cherie Piper, Marie-Philip Poulin, Colleen Sostorics, Kim St-Pierre, Shannon Szabados, Sarah Vaillancourt, Catherine Ward, Hayley WickenheiserGoldIce Hockey
MenJon MontgomeryGoldSkeleton
Snowboard Cross - WomenMaëlle RickerGoldSnowboard
Parallel Giant Slalom - MenJasey-Jay AndersonGoldSnowboard
1,000m - WomenChristine NesbittGoldSpeed Skating - Long Track
Team Pursuit - MenDenny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky, Mathieu GirouxGoldSpeed Skating - Long Track
Relay 5,000m - MenGuillaume Bastille, Charles Hamelin, François Hamelin, Olivier Jean, François-Louis TremblayGoldSpeed Skating - Short Track
500m - MenCharles HamelinGoldSpeed Skating - Short Track
WomenCori Bartel, Cheryl Bernard, Carolyn Darbyshire-McRorie, Kristie Moore, Susan O'ConnorSilverCurling
Moguls - WomenJenn HeilSilverSkiing - Freestyle
Snowboard Cross - MenMike RobertsonSilverSnowboard
1,500m - WomenKristina GrovesSilverSpeed Skating - Long Track
Relay 3,000m - WomenJessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge, Marianne St-Gelais, Tania VicentSilverSpeed Skating - Short Track
500m - WomenMarianne St-GelaisSilverSpeed Skating - Short Track
Two-Man - WomenHelen Upperton, Shelley-Ann BrownSilverBobsleigh
Singles - WomenJoannie RochetteBronzeFigure Skating
3,000m - WomenKristina GrovesBronzeSpeed Skating - Long Track
5,000m - WomenClara HughesBronzeSpeed Skating - Long Track
500m - MenFrançois-Louis TremblayBronzeSpeed Skating - Short Track
Four-Man - MenDavid Bissett, Lascelles Brown, Chris Le Bihan, Lyndon RushBronzeBobsleigh

Overall Medal Count

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1United States9151337
2Germany1013730
3Canada147526
4Norway98623
5Austria46616
6Russia35715
7South Korea66214
T8Sweden52411
T8China52411
10France23611
11Switzerland6 - 39
12Netherlands4138
13Czech Republic2 - 46
14Poland1326
15Italy1135
16Japan - 325
17Finland - 145
18Australia21 - 3
T19Slovakia1113
T19Belarus1113
T21Croatia - 213
T21Slovenia - 213
23Latvia - 2 - 2
24Great Britain1 - - 1
T25Kazakhstan - 1 - 1
T25Estonia - 1 - 1

Teams