1st Canadian Gold!

I know people think of Canadians are quiet and laid-back, and they're right. But let me tell you, when one of their countrymen is competing, especially on home soil, they exhibit as much passion and pride as New Orleans fans at the Super Bowl.

Tonight at Cypress Mountain Alexandre Bilodeau took the gold in Men's Mogul Freestyle Skiing. Holly and I were eating dinner in the Workforce Break Tent at the Sliding Center during the final dozen runs, and I couldn't help but grin as the entire tent erupted into cheers as each Canadian took his run. I cheered quietly for Bryon Wilson, the American who won the bronze, and received a few glances from those around me. When the Canadians landed impressive jumps and flew across the finish line, however, it was as if there were no other competitors in the running. I know I've said this before, but I can't stress enough that there's some unwritten rule that at the Olympics everyone is free to express their joy, share their excitement, and relish in the glorious moments that they are a part of simply by being present. It truly is a beautiful and inspiring thing.

Also today were the final two runs of the Men's Luge. In between runs 3 and 4, I gave a tour of the lower portions of the track to Maxim, a Russian representative of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics who is staying with Cleanevent to learn more about snow, cleaning, and waste at an event of these proportions. As we trekked around through the pouring rain, I explained everything I knew about the Sliding Center and Cleanevent's role in keeping it clean and clear for both the athletes and spectators. One of the things I asked him about was if he had connections with other parts of the Games, besides Cleanevent, and he made a good point that if he talked to VANOC they would only tell him the positive things, whereas we are much more likely to tell the truth as we see it.

One of the other things I was interested to learn from Maxim is that Russia doesn't have the luge specialists that VANOC currently has to successfully maintain the ice of the track. The track staff  work hard to make sure the conditions are just right, whether it be scraping off ice or watering the track down. It looks like finding that kind of experts may be a challenge for Sochi, but their track isn't even built yet and they have four years to find a solution.

Our period of miserable rain soon ended, and the sun shone for the final runs of the luge. I was able to head up the hill a bit to watch the final five runs on the big screen from behind the track. I stood on the access road by the Track Lodge surrounded by five men, four of whom had countries names displayed proudly on their jackets - the Swiss and Norwegian chatted amicably, the Latvian stood quietly to my left, and the Kiwi showed up just in time to see the final run. While no one cheered during the runs of the final athletes - the world's best lugers (the final five runs each placed in the top five) - I knew that each one of us appreciated the feat we had just witnessed.

During the course of writing this blog post, I chatted extensively with the kid next to me at the Blenz Cafe window counter, overlooking the Whistler Medals Plaza. I saw some flags raised and some athletes receive their medals on the big screen, culminating in a fireworks display. There really is never a dull moment here, as long as I keep my eyes and ears open.