Drew Goldsack

Wow, it has already been a few weeks since the end of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and I’ve barely even had a chance to let the whole experience sink in! For many sports, the Olympics marks the end of their competitive season, cross country however, like many of the other ski disciplines, still had a month of training and competition to go following the finale of The Games…so after a few easy days toward the end of the Olympics it was back down to business in preparation for the final races of the season. Some of the team headed back to Europe for the last few World Cups while the rest of us started preparing for the Canadian National Championships in Whitehorse.

A question I’ve been asked quite a lot lately is: ‘So…how was The Olympics?’ This seems like an obvious question but it’s almost a nearly impossible question to answer, especially in passing conversation. My standard reply has been what will surely be my number one memory from the 2010 Games: How unbelievably incredible the Canadian fans, volunteers and people of Vancouver were during the Olympics! Just being a part of the Canadian Olympic team was a thrill…unfortunately I didn’t race all that well but it was great to be able to share in the success of my cross country teammates and the success of the rest of the Canadian Olympic Team.

To try and answer the ‘How was the Olympics?’ question more accurately, here’s some of the highlights of the games for me (In no particular order):

-Watching Ivan, George and Alex all finish in the top 10 in the 30km pursuit, incredible!

-Watching the women’s Gold medal hockey game live!

-Seeing Alex and Devon finish 4th in a very close sprint relay.

-Watching the Finland-USA semi final hockey game with most of the Canadian Men’s hockey team, very impressed with the Men’s team, really friendly guys.

-Devon’s 5th place finish in the 50k.

-Seeing the gold medal awarded to Jon Montgomery and topping off the night with front row seats to The Stars concert in the Whistler Medals Plaza.

-Walking down Robson Street and feeling like a total celebrity!

-Watching the Men’s Gold Medal hockey game from the Canadian lounge in the Vancouver Athlete Village and hearing the roar of the city after each goal…

-Front row seats at the closing ceremonies.

-Being able to compete at the Olympics in front of my Family, Friends and all the incredible Canadian fans!

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In the tape deck:

Artist: Matt & Kim, Track: Daylight

Artist: Bag Raiders, Track: Shooting Stars

Overheard:

George: ‘Ivan, what’s in the box? [for breakfast]’
Ivan: ‘Waffles and chocolates.’

View from the front row at the closing ceremonies!

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Now these are fans! Mike Argue, Steve Heart, Brady Dunne, Andrew Leoni, Adam Hull and Matt Jeffries cheering on the boys in the 4x10km relay.

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GOLD! Women's gold medal hockey celebration.

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The view of BC Place and downtown Vancouver from the Canadian Athlete Lounge in the Vancouver village

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The always watchful eye of Olympic security forces who did an outstanding job!

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Alex and Brent enjoying the closing ceremonies.

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Myself, Stef and Brent, front row at the closing ceremonies!

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Good times at a Lululemon/Budweiser event during The Games!

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This post and others can also be found on skitrax.com