VANCOUVER - Canada added a fifth Olympic gold medal to its coffers Monday on the same day that team officials announced the host team couldn't reach its target of topping the medals standings at the Vancouver Games.
The country's first Olympic gold in ice dancing by Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., put Canada alone in fifth place in the medal standings with 10 (5-4-1).
The U.S. slowed its torrid pace from the first week of competition, but still topped the table with 25. Germany had a big day with four medals to break the 20-medal barrier and sit second with 21. Norway was third with 14 and Russia recovered from a slow start to reach 11 Monday.
Own The Podium is a $117-million, five-year support plan for athletes to win more medals than any other country at its own Games. But Canada's medal-a-day pace wasn't enough to catch the Americans even with multiple medal chances coming in the final four days of the Games, team officials said Monday.
The good:
- For a skating team still reeling from the death of teammate Joannie Rochette's mother at these Games, Moir and Virtue showed remarkable poise and mental toughness winning a gold medal.
-The women's hockey team assured Canada of a medal by beating Finland 5-0 in the semifinal. They face the U.S. for gold Thursday.
- Kevin Martin's team kept rolling through the curling field at 8-0 and Cheryl Bernard's team clinched a playoff berth with a 6-2 rout of defending champion Sweden.
The bad:
- Other than ice dancing, Canada didn't have strong medal chances Monday. The disappointment of the day was the Canadian team having to concede that the dream of winning the most medals at the Games was over.
Grade: B
Canada's medal chances Tuesday are Ashleigh McIvor of Whistler, B.C., and Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., in the new sport of women's ski cross.
