# Why don't Canadians do better in the Winter Olympics? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports\ **Created:** [February 16, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698 "2026-02-16T03:16:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/21 "2026-02-16T16:45:34Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > (And it sounded like the vast majority of figure skaters train in Canada. I was amused to notice that skaters representing an awful lot of countries were talking to their coaches on English.) And all the coaches were bald men. But really it was one bald man, Benoit Richaud. He’s coaching 16 skaters from 13 countries. He literally changed hats and jackets each time he’s sitting next to his skaters. He’s French but I don’t doubt he uses English as a common language for many of them. From what I can see he’s currently training out of Italy but has also trained in Lake Placid. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/22 "2026-02-16T18:59:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I didn’t even know that it was allowed for a nation to send two teams to the Olympics for the same event. What are the limits? It’s not. My point is that Canada generates a lot of athletes in a sport where the number of medals we can win is limited to two. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/23 "2026-02-16T19:46:53Z")
Ah, where the two are the men’s and women’s events. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/24 "2026-02-16T19:51:50Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > I think it’s a pretty well known phenomenon that host countries usually win more medals, gold in particular, than they normally do when they aren’t the host. You also automatically get an athlete in every event. It’s one bonus in hosting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/25 "2026-02-16T19:55:51Z")
I thought that the best competitor from every nation automatically made it in (even if the second-best didn’t qualify). Isn’t that how the Jamaican bobsled team got in? Or is that only for team sports? Even if that’s not the way it works, it should be. Every country should be able to be represented in every event. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/26 "2026-02-16T20:00:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I thought that the best competitor from every nation automatically made it in (even if the second-best didn’t qualify). Isn’t that how the Jamaican bobsled team got in? Or is that only for team sports? I think that was the case a long time ago. I think Eddie the Eagle or other unqualified athletes helped make sure they have a qualification requirement. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/27 "2026-02-16T20:02:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I thought that the best competitor from every nation automatically made it in (even if the second-best didn’t qualify). Isn’t that how the Jamaican bobsled team got in? Or is that only for team sports? > > Even if that’s not the way it works, it should be. Every country should be able to be represented in every event. The topic is discussed at length in this other thread. Short answer: how people and teams qualify varies by sport, but in general, it seems like the individual sport governing bodies now try to not have clearly unqualified athletes compete. Generally speaking, AIUI, each event has some level of limit as to how many athletes/teams qualify, for logistics, if nothing else. > [@How do countries find their Olympic athletes? How do Olympic teams work in general?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-countries-find-their-olympic-athletes-how-do-olympic-teams-work-in-general/1027605/41): > > A friend of the family was a Pan American Games champion in gymnastics in the 1970s but couldn’t accrue enough points to be eligible for the Olympics. He got there in 2006. In the luge. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/28 "2026-02-17T17:39:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I thought that the best competitor from every nation automatically made it in (even if the second-best didn’t qualify). Isn’t that how the Jamaican bobsled team got in? Or is that only for team sports? > > Even if that’s not the way it works, it should be. Every country should be able to be represented in every event. As mentioned, Eddie the Eagle put the kibosh on that rule. It was sneeringly called “Olympic Tourism” and immediately banned after Eddie competed. He was far behind even the next-to-last jumper. But they still made a movie about him. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/29 "2026-02-17T17:46:39Z")
I watched a special report on ski jumping in Sweden (?) last night. They start training at 4 years old. Those youngest skiers don’t even stand, they sit on their little skis and sail over a 12” hill jump point and travel about 4 feet.By the time they are 6 they have a slightly bigger hill. And another, larger hill when they are 8. And so on. It’s just like tikes starting with T-ball in the US and working their way up to 100 mph pitches. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/30 "2026-02-17T17:49:50Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > As mentioned, Eddie the Eagle put the kibosh on that rule. It was sneeringly called “Olympic Tourism” and immediately banned after Eddie competed. He was far behind even the next-to-last jumper. But they still made a movie about him. Well, not entirely. Don’t forget about the snowboarder from 2018 who figured out how to get into the Olympics just by not falling. > **[Meet Elizabeth Swaney, the American skier who scammed her way to the Olympics](https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/meet-elizabeth-swaney-the-american-skier-who-scammed-her-way-to-the-olympics/)** > > Here's how a very average skier used her brains and determination to achieve an Olympic dream > This year, there were 24 quota spots available for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in women’s ski halfpipe. But those spots don’t automatically go to the best 24 skiers in the world. The maximum number of skiers that each nation can send to the Olympics for women’s halfpipe is four, so a country like the U.S. — which had six skiers ranked inside the top 20 of the Olympic qualification standings — could only send their top four skiers, even though they had more than four athletes who earned quota spots. > > So with countries like the U.S. having to forego their extra quota spots, some countries not using all their quota spots, and other athletes pulling out due to injury, the invite list made it all the way down to athlete No. 34 in the rankings: Elizabeth Swaney of Hungary. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/31 "2026-02-17T17:54:34Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Don’t forget about the snowboarder from 2018 who figured out how to get into the Olympics just by not falling. Or [Rachael Gunn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachael_Gunn) in 2024. She competed in the breakdancing competition (the first and so far only time they’ve had that as an Olympic event; it won’t return in 2028) and received zero points across 3 different performances. So yeah, it still happens depending on the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/32 "2026-02-17T19:02:21Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > I thought that the best competitor from every nation automatically made it in (even if the second-best didn’t qualify). Isn’t that how the Jamaican bobsled team got in? Or is that only for team sports? > > > > Even if that’s not the way it works, it should be. Every country should be able to be represented in every event. > > As mentioned, Eddie the Eagle put the kibosh on that rule. It was sneeringly called “Olympic Tourism” and immediately banned after Eddie competed. He was far behind even the next-to-last jumper. But they still made a movie about him. The Jamaican bobsled team was the same year. There was a real concern of death or serious bodily injury. They took things seriously and have improved since and have qualified for the Olympics in multiple years. They now also have a woman’s team. I remember there were always stories of incredibly slow runners being eliminated in early rounds and other similar stories. The impetus for change was when it was in sports like ski jumping or bobsled when we might witness instant death on live tv. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/33 "2026-02-17T20:09:44Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Don’t forget about the snowboarder from 2018 who figured out how to get into the Olympics just by not falling. That is hilarious. I genuinely feel at the same level as an olympian, if not better! ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/34 "2026-02-17T20:12:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I remember there were always stories of incredibly slow runners being eliminated in early rounds and other similar stories. I can definitely remember there being some comically slow ‘sprinters’ in the 100m in… I want to say Atlanta 1996. I played ‘guess the slowest runner’ with a friend and I kid you not some were struggling to break 14 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/35 "2026-02-18T01:09:22Z")
se Italian medal count ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/36 "2026-02-18T17:05:00Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > She competed in the breakdancing competition (the first and so far only time they’ve had that as an Olympic event; it won’t return in 2028) and received zero points across 3 different performances. So yeah, it still happens depending on the circumstances. Rachael Gunn is a different case, as she legitimately seems to have scammed her way in. There are, and I’m guessing low, THOUSANDS of better break dancers in Australia, but her little club decided who got to go. The Hungarian lady who got into the skiing event actually busted her ass to go compete and earn points on the world circuit, and no one else in Hungary did or could be said to be any better. > [@Loach](#): > > I remember there were always stories of incredibly slow runners being eliminated in early rounds and other similar stories. The impetus for change was when it was in sports like ski jumping or bobsled when we might witness instant death on live tv. And logistics. It’s not hard to let a few more people run the 100 metre dash and it’s in keeping with Olympic spirit. But you can’t have, say, 64 hockey teams, you’d never be able to get all the games in. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/37 "2026-02-20T17:01:42Z")
UPDATE: Well, the red maple guys and gals are doing pretty good. They now have 4 golds and 16 medals overall. They are in the 2nd tier of countries after the top medal winners. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/38 "2026-02-20T18:29:39Z")
It might have been, in part, simply a matter of when certain events’ finals were being held. You started this thread this past Sunday (i.e., at the end of the first week of the Games), and I know that, for example, a lot of the speed skating events – in which other countries, like the Netherlands and Norway, as noted upthread – had their finals fairly early in the Games. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/39 "2026-02-20T19:17:52Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Some nations are in general better at winning medals in Olympics relative to the population of the country. Perhaps the most extreme example is in the1980 Winter Olympics, where Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein won two gold medals and a silver (in alpine skiing, of course). Her brother Andreas also won a silver medal that year. Those two individuals, all by themselves, made Liechtenstein one of the top medal producing nations in the world, on a per capita basis. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698/40 "2026-02-20T20:17:20Z")
Here are some tables: > **[Most Successful Olympic Countries Per Capita Rankings](https://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/medal-tally/all-time-comparison-pop.htm)** > > Discover which countries win the most Olympic medals per capita. Small island nations like Bahamas and San Marino dominate when adjusted for population size. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-canadians-do-better-in-the-winter-olympics/1027698.md?page=1)