William Dandjinou placed fourth in the men's 1,000-metre short track speed skating finals on Thursday in Milan. It was another close call for a medal-contending Canadian at these Games.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
You ever get the feeling that things just aren’t going to go your way? That’s where Canada’s at, six official competition days into the Olympics.
It’s not an organizational failure, or an out and out disaster. They just aren’t getting the benefit of good luck, or surprise performances, or even the expected results.
Thursday was indicative. Snowboard cross racer Éliot Grondin won a silver, which is great, but he missed gold by less than two-fifths of a second. The same thing happened to him in Beijing.
His teammate, Elizabeth Hosking, was an outside chance for a medal in snowboard halfpipe. She fell on all three runs, and hurt herself in the final one.
Elsewhere, the guy we’re used to getting Canada off on the right foot, Mikaël Kingsbury, finally had his number called. Another silver, in freestyle moguls. Again, great. But Kingsbury lost to an Australian. Most of us can’t swim outdoors for eight months of the year, so isn’t it only right that Australia shouldn’t be so good on skis? I guess not.
Then there were the last medals of the night, given out in short track speed skating. Canada (or more specifically, Quebec) is a power in the sport, but not the one it once was. Milan Cortina was envisioned as the occasion during which we snatched back our crown.
On Thursday, people hopped we’d see the beginning of The William Dandjinou Show. Some projectors had the lanky 24-year-old winning three individual medals here. Maybe even three golds. He would be the Summer McIntosh of the Winter Games™.
Dandjinou sailed through the prelims of the 1000-metre, literally. He had a strategy – go out first and stay there. You must be unusually strong to do so, but the 6-foot-3 Dandjinou looms over all other racers. Strength isn’t the issue. He led through most of the final, but as it was coming to a close, he suffered a minor slip. Any sort of deceleration in short track creates difficulty. Doing it in the final lap makes the job impossible. Right at the death, Dandjinou went from first to second to third and, just at the line, fourth. It was painful to watch.
Dandjinou is one of those human forces of positivity. An easy smile and a disconcertingly direct gaze. You could tell afterward that he was working to project confidence – to himself as much as anyone else.
Italy's Arianna Fontana, Netherlands' Michelle Velzeboer and Canada's Courtney Sarault take a selfie from the podium with their medals after competing in the women's 500-metre short track finals on Thursday.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
“It’s part of life,” he said. “It’s part of sport.”
It was an impressive performance. But as he walked away, you could see his shoulders slump. He will have had a long night.
The team’s coach, former speed skating great Marc Gagnon, put the disappointing finish down to an oversupply of competitive virtue.
“William will always race to win. He didn’t adjust to maybe settling for second or third,” Gagnon said. “He went all in because he wanted to win. That’s what William is, and it penalized him a little.”
It wasn’t all bad news. Courtney Sarault finished third in the women’s 500-metre. She came into the mixed zone and wept. It was lovely.
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However, in order for her to do so, two-time Canadian bronze medalist in the same event, Kim Boutin, had to fail. Same thing as Dandjinou – a slip in the final, this time at the start.
“I was watching the race by the end,” Boutin shrugged.
There are more chances for the entire crew. Dandjinou could win the 500m and 1500m. Sarault could win the 1000m. Canada’s women should win the 3000m relay. But right now, the winds of Olympic progress are howling at Canada from the front.
This was meant to be the Olympics where Canada proved it wasn’t just maintaining as a winter power, but moving up the ranks. We are already routinely ensconced in the top five of medals overall. Now it was time to begin passing the likes of Germany and the U.S. Who knows? Eventually, and despite the fact that they give out about a million medals for cross-country skiing, we could be slugging it out with Norway.
Canada's women's curling team, Sarah Wilkes, Tracy Fleury, Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew, should contend for a medal at this year's Games.Candice Ward/The Canadian Press
If it’s going to happen, it won’t be this time. Canada has yet to win a gold. The host nation is having the Games we wanted – 17 medals to our seven.
It’s about 10 C in Milan most days, and women of all ages are walking the streets draped in so much fur they look like extras in Doctor Zhivago. When you’re losing that badly at winter sport to a country that just barely has what we’d call winter, it’s hard not to feel a little snake bitten.
Halfway through the Winter Games is when hockey begins to draw away the country’s attention, especially now that the NHL is back.
If any other competitor wants to have the sort of small, national moment that can define a Canadian Games – I’m thinking of Justine and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe holding hands on the podium at Sochi – it would have been better if they’d already had it. Now it will be overwhelmed by the big Canada-France beat down. Forget about Sidney Crosby. Will Jordan Binnington score?
The women’s hockey team is a mortal lock for a medal, but it won’t matter if they are spanked by the U.S. in the final.
The men’s team started out strong on Thursday. That’s a plus. The curlers look up for it as well. Hockey and curling – that’s four major medals in all if it works out. Does it feel to you like it’s going to work out? And if it does, will that be enough for everyone?
So this weekend – that’s where the Olympic rubber meets the Canadian road. This is either going to be one of the great second-half comebacks, or it’s going to be one of those deals where Canada takes stock (i.e. takes to its bed for a good, long cry).
No Games is defined by coarse totals. If they are remembered, it will be for moments of national celebration. Despite its pandemic-induced banality, Beijing had some of those. Pyeongchang had a boatload, as did Sochi. And Vancouver was nothing but repeated displays of Canadian vigour.
Milan Cortina has had some good Canadian moments, but it hasn’t had a great one. And though it’s not over, the end is beginning to come into view.