By Wendy Pattenden
CEO, Canadian Sport Institute Pacific
What an incredible 16 days we just had at Rio 2016!
These Games were truly spectacular for Team Canada, earning a record-tying 22 medals at a non-boycotted Summer Games. At the Rio Games we won even more gold medals than those Games in Atlanta twenty years ago, making Rio 2016 Canada’s most successful Summer Olympics ever!
The Canadian Sport Institute Pacific’s mission is built upon Powering Performance. Inspiring Excellence. No wonder it’s been gratifying to see our athletes turn their hard work into such historic results on the world stage that was Rio 2016.
British Columbia-affiliated athletes were a huge part of this success, being winners in 11 of the 22 medal wins, or a spectacular 50 per cent of all medals. This was the second straight Summer Games in which B.C.-affiliated athletes contributed to 50 per cent of the medal count, reinforcing the fact that Canada’s top athletes come to British Columbia to train due to the governmental and partner support, and the scientific and medical expertise they receive here in B.C.
Sixty-one members of Team Canada won a medal in Rio, from the individual winners, such as Catharine Pendrel and Hilary Caldwell, to the teams of Women’s Soccer and Women’s Rugby Sevens. CSI Pacific is affiliated with 41 of these athletes – or 67 per cent of all of Team Canada’s medallists – having provided them support in the past year. We are very proud to work with so many of Canada’s top athletes.
We are also extremely proud to have sent our largest ever contingent of sport science and sport medicine experts to Rio this summer, to work with our sport partners and their athletes and coaches.
Our work expands far beyond the 16 days of the Olympics, however: our Integrated Support Team (IST) staff work with these athletes day-in, day-out over the entire four years of the Olympic quad. This hard work, long hours and incredible dedication to their craft all contribute to these athletes’ success in Rio. Each and every one of these staff members owns a piece of these medals.
This success is also owned by each and every one of our partners.
Special acknowledgment is deserved by our National Sport Organization partners. These NSOs and their coaches have provided the highest level of preparation, planning and support to their athletes, enabling them to surpass expectations in Rio.
Not only did Canada win a record number of medals, but Team Canada athletes’ results featured numerous more personal bests, Canadian records and “best ever” results for Canadians in their events, showing that our partners had their athletes ready to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
A huge debt of gratitude is also owed to our government partners at the federal and provincial levels for their continued support of the Canadian Sport Institute.
With the ongoing commitment of the Government of Canada, Sport Canada, Own The Podium and the Members of Parliament, Canada’s current and future athletes are provided every opportunity for success.
We also wish to thank the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development of the Government of British Columbia, as well as Members of the Legislative Assembly in B.C. who champion the role of sport and performance in society; this continued support makes a huge difference for athletes in British Columbia.
And now we get to catch our breath for two weeks before even more of Canada’s top athletes show the world what they’re made of when the Paralympics start on Sept. 7. We can’t wait.
Collaborate. Serve. Innovate. This is our mantra, and these tenets are the ones by which Team Canada earned unprecedented success at the Rio Olympics. We are excited to see how they contribute to Canadian success at the Paralympics, as well, coming in two weeks!
Bom Dia e Obrigrado!