OTTAWA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Canada's enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics over the past century will continue in Beijing. Since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, Canadian athletes have not missed a single Winter Olympics, and must have won at least one medal at every Winter Olympics. At the last PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Canada had a good record, with 11 gold medals creating the team's second-best result in the history of the Winter Olympics. Conservative estimates suggest that in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Canada will be the favourite to win gold in at least 6 events.
According to sports data firm Gracenote, Canada is on track to win six gold, six silver and 11 bronze medals. The total of these 23 medals will be 6 fewer than the 2018 Winter Olympics, but it is optimistic that Canada will also have the strength to hit 10 gold. The Canadian team is strong in the following projects.
ice hockey
Since women's hockey became an official sport at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, The Canadian team dominated the sport with 4 gold and 2 silver. Of canada's squad for the Beijing Winter Olympics, 13 players have competed in the Winter Olympics and won silver medals in Pyeongchang. Its biggest competitor is the United States team, which won gold medals at the 1998 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
On June 7, 2021, in the final of the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championships in Riga, Latvia, Canada won the championship by beating Finland 3-2 in extra time. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Addis)
In men's hockey, the collective absence of North American Professional Hockey League (NHL) players means that the Canadian team is likely to take the podium in Beijing.
Freestyle skiing
At the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the Canadians won 4 gold medals in the sport. The most promising event at the Beijing Winter Olympics is the men's snow skills event, and defending champion Mika Kingsbury is expected to return to its glory in 2018.
Snowboarding
In the men's snowboarding event at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Marc Sans Parrote and Mark McMorris ranked second and third respectively. They want to build on 2018. In 2019, Parrote was diagnosed with Hawking lymphoma 11 months after winning a silver medal in PyeongChang and has now recovered.
speed skating
Speed skating men's 500m world champion Laurent Dubreuil and the women's collective departure event Ivani Blondin are the favourites to win gold in their respective fields. Brontin also has a high probability of winning her second individual gold medal in the women's team competition.
It is worth mentioning that the Dutch-born Ted Jan Blueman will compete for medals in the men's 10,000 and 5,000 meters. In both events, he won first and second place in PyeongChang.
Short track speed skating
Canada sent a team of 10 people (5 men and 5 women) to try to replicate the excellent results of winning 5 medals in 2018.
The most famous of these is 37-year-old veteran Charles Hamelin. This will be the fifth and final Winter Olympics he will attend. The five-time Olympic medal winner is expected to be Canada's most medal-winning Olympian. Hamelin will compete in the men's 5,000m relay. After Canada recently won the world cup in the project, expectations were high.
Canadian Charles Hamelin (front) in the race. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan
In the women's short track speed skating, Canada was led by Kim Butting, who won three medals at the PyeongChang Olympics (silver in the 1000m, bronze in the 500m and bronze in the 1500m). In Beijing, the 27-year-old will strive for a new honor. Especially in the 500m event, in recent seasons of the World Cup, she has repeatedly won medals.
curling
The Canadian team, which won the gold medal in the curling mixed doubles competition at the Winter Olympics, is looking forward to continuing to write brilliantly at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Gold medalist Brad Guccieu at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, captain of the men's curling team, will face stiff competition with the British team led by Bruce Moat.
In women's curling, Canada relies on a team led by Jennifer Jones, who hopes to repeat the 2014 gold medal in Sochi.
Judging from the historical data of the total number of medals, the best performer of the winter Olympic powerhouse Canada was the 2018 Winter Olympics, which won 29 medals. Canada won 14 gold medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In parallel with its non-stop participation in the Winter Olympics, Canada has hosted two Winter Olympics: in Calgary in 1988 and in Vancouver in 2010.
Editors: Ding Wenxian, Wu Bowen, Cui Yue (Intern)