XC Skiing exceeds all expectations from Olympic Games report card
There’s an interesting article in the Herald today, grading the various events in the Olympics, based on what was expected and what was delivered. XC skiing received a much better grade than what was expected. It also gives the amount of money contributed by OTP(Own the Podium). Here’s the report:
What was expected: We expected close in a few events but no cigars.
There was some hope that someone would pull a rabbit out of a hat the way Chandra Crawford did in 2006 in Turin but nobody was expected to get a medal.
What was delivered: A spectacular effort. There were a number of top-10 finishes, including three in the men’s 30-km pursuit. Devon Kershaw and Harvey finished fourth in the team sprint and, on the final day, Kershaw was fifth, missing the podium by just over a half-second in the 50-km mass start.
OTP: $1,183,280. Expected grade: C Final grade: A-minus.
For event-by-event analysis, see Games report card
A-minus much too generous considering no podium finishes.Maybe “D” for expectations and”C” for final grade would have been closer. Very disappointed that Brian McKeever was not allowed to race. His exclusion to me was one of the saddest moments(other than the deaths) of an otherwise excellent, feel good Olympics for Canadians.The handling of this and the lack of podium finishes has me doubting the management and coaching staff of the X-country ski team.
$3.4 million for Alpine skiing! I think C minus was too generous. It was more like an F. I’d rather see some of that money go into XC skiing and biathalon.