The Zika virus, polluted water, security
issues, Russian doping scandal, lack of ticket sales and some venues not being ready!
If you believe everything you have heard, read or seen, the Rio de Janeiro
Olympics will be a disaster by epic proportions.
The fact is, we have heard these dooms day
stories before. Calgary, Beijing, London, Vancouver, Sochi (basically all
Olympics Games) have had to deal with scandals, controversy, security threats
or lack of popular opinion among some local residents.
Will the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics be the
best ever? Obviously not! Will they produce memorable and magical moments? You
can take that to the bank.
When Canada's team of 315 athletes walk onto
the world stage during the opening ceremonies on August 5th, the majority of us
will forget about the controversies and focus in on the achievements. We will
cheer loudly when our athletes reach the podium and we will share in the
disappointment when expectations are not achieved.
Own the Podium has set a goal of 19 medals
for Team Canada at these Olympics. A modest upgrade from the 18 won in London
four years ago. With 19 medals, Canada should reach their goal of a top 12
finish in the medal standings.
“Canada is ready,”
Anne Merklinger, chief executive officer of Own the Podium, pledged last month
during a conference call. “We know every medal will matter, and it’s an
extremely tight medal race.”
“Our team is larger
and deeper than the team we sent to London,” said Chris Overholt, chief
executive officer of the COC. “We are confident in our potential to finish in
the top-12 in 2016.”
Over the past three
weeks on my radio show, I have been introducing my listeners to some of the
athletes to watch from Calgary and the surrounding area.
While we are known as
a winter sports training hub, I have put together a list of Calgary athletes to
watch with the best medal potential.
Cycling: Laura Brown,
Monique Sullivan, Allison Beveridge and Kate O’Brien. Brown and Sullivan are
both heading into their second Olympics. Beveridge and O’Brien are the rookies.
O’Brien just missed competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Bobsleigh and made
the cross over to cycling. “Our goal is to win a medal,” says Calgary born
Brown who competes in the team pursuit. “We want to be on the top step.”
Wrestling: Jasmine
Mian and Erica Wiebe. While both of these athletes were born in Ontario, they
moved to Calgary to train at the National training center and both attended the
University of Calgary. Jasmine competes in the 48 kg (105 pound) division while
Erica wrestles in the 75 kg division. Wiebe did not lose a match in 2014. She
will be in tough against the home town favourite from Brazil but her goal is
also to stand on the podium.
Shooting: Lynda
Kiejko. (Pronounced – Kay ko) Lynda was destined to be an Olympian. Her late
father Bill Hare competed in 3 Olympic Games in 1964, 1968 and 1972. Her sister
Dorothy Ludwig represented Canada at the 2012 Games in London (actually beating
Lynda out for the spot). Lynda went to London as Dorothy’s personal coach.
“That was an experience that has prepared me for Rio,” says Kiejko who will
compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol.
Track and Field: Mat
Bilodeau, Inaki Gomez, Maria Bernard and Jessica O’Connell. Bilodeau is a
Quebec athlete who moved to Calgary 4 years ago to work as a CPA at MEG Energy.
He will compete in the 50 km race walk. Part of his training workout is walking
to work. From Tuscany to downtown Calgary.
Gomez was born in
Mexico City and his family moved to Vancouver when he was 9. He just finished
his law degree at the University of Calgary and his wife also attend University
in Calgary. Bernard and O’Connell are both born and raised Calgarians. Bernard
competes in the 3000 m Steeplechase while O’Connell is a 5k specialist.
Swimmers: Yuri “The
Missile” Kisil and Jason Block. Two more athletes that were born and raised in
Calgary. Kisil is just 20 years old and he has exploded up the ranks winning 3
medals at the Pan American Games in Toronto.
Beach Volleyball: Ben
Saxton. Another born and raised YYC athlete. His father competed in the 1984
Olympics and his parents own the Volleyball Dome. He just missed out
representing Canada at the 2012 Olympics in London. He now is teamed up with
fellow Albertan Chaim Schalk who hails from Red Deer.
Good luck to all our
Canadian athletes who will proudly represent our great country!
NFL
takes technology to a new level
Although it's still not a perfect science, the
National Football League is going to test chip technology in their footballs
during the preseason.
The football chip will provide information ranging
from its precise location during kicks to the velocity of throws by
quarterbacks, but there is no indication that the NFL has plans to use it for
psi measurements. If everything goes according to plan, these footballs will be
in play for all preseason games and potentially all Thursday night games during
the regular season.
The data is part of the league's NextGen program
that culls tracking and exertion information from every player and official on
the field during games. Once the technology is fine-tuned, the hope is this
will also assist officials with the spot of the ball in short yardage
situations.
Could the CFL soon follow suit with this new
technology? Would CFL coaches be in favour? I put that question to Stampeder
head coach Dave Dickenson on “Sportstalk with Jock” on Newstalk 770 and he had
an interesting response.
"It's all about the finances," says the
coach. "These guys like to throw the ball into the stands. I want the game
to be affordable. If we can do it, great! But I don't want to see it if it's
going to put more cost on the fans."
The NFL is a multibillion dollar business. They can
afford to put money into new technology. Once they have perfected the
technology and the costs are reasonable, the CFL can just tag along.
The NFL is also talking about making life tougher
for field goal kickers. Could we see the league reduce the space between the
field goal uprights? This was tested a couple of years ago during the Pro Bowl.
With 85 per cent of field goals being made in the NFL, the league wants to make
this more difficult and more exciting for the fans.
While some football purists believe this is a
little too drastic (like the debate to make NHL nets larger), I am in favour of
anything that will make the game more exciting.
Golf
Takes the Spotlight
As mentioned in these pages before, Calgary
and Southern Alberta will be a hot spot for golf over the next month.
The Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada) makes
a stop at the Talons course at Calgary’s Country Hills location. The ATB
Financial Classic runs the weekend of August 4 – 7.
It will be a treat to watch Canada’s Brooke
Henderson at the CP Canadian Women’s Open at Priddis Greens August 22 – 28. Henderson
is ranked number two in the world and the 18 year old has already won a major.
On August 31st, the Champions
tour is back at Canyon Meadows for the Shaw Charity Classic. This could be the
strongest field ever as all three defending champions are back and organizers
have also added 8 time major winner Tom Watson and fan favourite John Daly.
Enjoy your summer!
About Jock Wilson:
Jock has been involved in the Calgary sport media scene for over 30 years. He hosts the
Calgary Stampeder football broadcasts on Newstalk 770 and is the host of
Sportstalk from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Email: jock@am770chqr.com
Twitter: @sportson770
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