Expectations are difficult things to manage, as the Canadian Olympic Committee is discovering in the wake of the London Olympics.
The couple of weeks since the 2012 Summer Games ended has allowed time to analyse Canada's performance in London. The COC likes to talk about the number of inspiring performances and gush over the women's soccer team finishing third.
In truth, Canada had an average Olympics. Considering the amount of money Own the Podium is spending on summer sports, taxpayers have a right to expect more.
Factor in some high-profile athletes like boxer Mary Spencer of Windsor, Ont., cyclist Zach Bell of North Vancouver and mountain biker Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., all three who missed the podium entirely and you could say the results were disappointing. They said as much themselves; Pendrel, fighting tears, even apologized.
The Canadian Olympic Committee set a goal to finish among the top 12 countries in medals won. In the end Canada earned 18 medals -- one gold, five silver and 12 bronze -- to finish 13th. The Netherlands and Ukraine both won more and each took home 20 medals.
Over the last four years OTP has spent $36 million a year on summer athletes. It's true other countries spend plenty more money on their sports programs.
"The investment in summer sports is still relatively short,'' Anne Merklinger, OTP's chief executive officer, said prior to the Games. "Do I think that we will have a positive affect on the performance in London? Yes. Is there still a lot of work to be done? There's no doubt about it.''
If you use gold medals as a barometer of success, Canada sunk to 36th among 79 nations on the medal table. (Canadas single gold was won by Ontarios Rosie MacLennan in trampoline.) Jamaican sprinter Usian Bolt returned home with more gold than Canada. Lithuania and Belarus celebrated more victories.
Compare Canada's performance in London with the last three Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Canada finished 14th in medals with 18 (three gold, nine silver, six bronze). At Athens in 2004 Canada was 19th (3-6-3) and finished 18th in 2000 in Sydney (3-3-8).
The most medals Canada has ever won at a non-boycotted Games was 22 in 1996. The gold medal count in London was the lowest at a non-boycotted Games since the 1976 Montreal Olympics when Canada was kept off the top step of the podium, the only host country never to win gold.
When Own the Podium was created in 2005 its purpose was to help Canadian athletes lead the medal count at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Canada finished third in the standings with 26 medals, but the 14 gold were the most won by any country at a Winter Games.
In 2006 the program was expanded to include summer sports. OTP distributes about $70 million in federal government funding each year for both summer and winter sports.
At past Olympics, officials were frustrated with Canada's conversion rate. Too often athletes that had performed well at world championships and World Cup events leading up to the Games fell short of expectations at the Olympics.
The belief held that if OTP focused its spending on training, coaching and equipment for selected athletes, the support would allow those individuals to perform on the day.
The theory worked at the Vancouver Winter Olympics but not at the London Summer Games.
Shot-putter Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., cyclist Tara Whitten of Edmonton, triathlete Paula Findlay, also of Edmonton, and heptathlete Jessica Zelinka who trains in Calgary, didn't reach the Olympic podium.
Sports can be like that. Favourites sometimes get beaten. Just ask the Vancouver Canucks.
There are signs of promise for future Games. Among the bronze medallists were Derek Drouin, 22, of Sarnia, Ont., in high jump; Jennifer Abel, 20, of Laval, Que., in synchronized diving; and Richard Weinberger, 22, of Surrey, B.C., in marathon swim.
Maybe the most frustrating thing coming out of the London Games is the attitude presented by the Canadian Olympic Committee. President Marcel Aubut has slipped back into talking about "best performances" and Canada forming a "true team.''
The Olympics is not a participation event. Everyone doesn't get a ribbon for showing up.
Canadian taxpayers' money is being spent preparing Olympic athletes.
Average isn't good enough anymore.
Jim Morris is a veteran reporter who has covered eight Olympic Games. Reach him at [email protected].
