Mark Tewksbury: Canadian athletes are 'in it to win it'

I was talking to someone recently, and was reminded of the impact of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, partly on the psyche of a nation, but especially on the mindset of Canadian athletes.

First, I want you take a step back in time. The year was 1992. I won the 100-metre backstroke at the Barcelona Olympics. Sure, it was a different time. There was no internet, no email, no cell phones, no texting. 

When I won, I actually received telegrams. Yes—telegrams! 

At that time, I was receiving approximately $450 per month from Sport Canada on behalf of the government, the highest amount possible, as I was ranked top four in the world in my event. That money was much welcomed but, even then, it just covered my absolute basic living costs. I won because I came from a strong club system in swimming, and I had access to the leading technology and expertise of the day via the University of Calgary. Not many people shared such access at that time.

New attitude, harsh decisions

Flash forward to 2003. Vancouver won the right to host the 2010 Olympic Games. It was an exciting time in Canada, but a challenging one for the man in charge of Olympic sport, Mark Lowry. We had the notorious distinction of being the only country to host the Olympics and not win gold at or own games.  And we had done it twice—in 1976 and 1988. 

Tons of money was poured into the Olympic movement in Canada, but most of that went towards the building of infrastructure, not Canadian athletes. Lowry knew that he had to radically change how we approached sport in Canada if we were to avoid a third no-gold strike. With that came a formalized sport review process which eventually gave birth to what we know today as Own the Podium.  That, in its time, was a game changer.

The Own the Podium program looked at the entire sport system and made some harsh decisions. If you were tracking for a medal, you received the lion's share of the funds. If you weren't—you didn't. While hugely challenging for sports that relied upon government funding, the influx of focused money in areas such as technical expertise, coaching, and increased funding for living started to make a difference in how our leading athletes felt. They were getting the support to stand against their competition and know they had everything they needed to be their best. 

They started to believe they could win, and now they had the support of a system to help them sustain it.

'In it to win it'

When I was chef de mission for London, we did an exercise that is done with the Olympic team a year before the games. We asked the team to imagine themselves walking into the Opening Ceremony to come up with five words to define themselves. How did they want the world to see them? The words in 2008 included "genuinely respectful" and "supportive."  Fine words, but in 2012 the five words included "unbreakable' and 'fierce."  Years of increased support and success had created a shift in the mindset of Canadian athletes. Finally—collectively, we were in it to win it.

In Vancouver in 2010, we saw the dawning of a new era in Canadian sport. We were one unified Canadian team. We set a record with 14 gold medal wins. The country shifted how it viewed itself and how Canadian athletes felt about themselves. I experienced that winning mindset leading the team into London, and we are sure to it on the playing fields of Toronto 2015.