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Olympic Wrap-up: The Road to Vancouver
After last night’s closing ceremonies, Torontoist wonders if their Itallian cousins will know what to expect when they arrive in our county next summer. What is our national identity exactly?? Because as of today, the world is probably as confused as yours truely. Snow shoes, ice fishing and ice sculptures bred way for a performance by Avril Lavigne as the Olympic Flag was handed over to Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan. Interesting combination.
Back from his performance at last week’s NBA allstar game, Italian Tenor Andrea Bocelli was the headline act for the hosts part of the show.
All-in-all it was an extremely successful games for the Canadian team. The 24 medals our athletes are bringing home cripples the previous high of 17 set in 2002. Speed Skater Cindy Klassen captured a record five medals in Turin and was given the flag duty for her country Sunday night.
Another pair of medals worth noting from the final day of competition were from Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin and defenseman Aki Berg. Sundin captained the Swedish team to a 3-2 win over Berg’s Finland in the men’s hockey final. Backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist also received a Gold, but as the third goalie he didn’t dress for the tournament.
Sundin’s Gold is a bit of a shocker for Leafs fans who were under the impression that he couldn’t win a big game. I’m guessing Sundin can be added to the list with Wade Redden and Dany Heatley in the “Life’s a lot easier when you’re playing with Daniel Alfredsson club”. The two Senators stars struggled as the Canadian team found little success at this year’s games. Don’t get too used to it Mats.