364 days and counting...

Well, we are one year to the day of the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Prepare to be bombarded by advertisements from the games sponsors like RBC, Petro-Canada and McDonalds - too late, my ears are already burning from that damn RBC song and I've sliced my hand on one of the cheap Petro Canada glassware. That is gonna leave a mark!

More important than souvenirs or booking your hotel room is how the athlete's will actually perform come February 2010. In the 2008 games held in Turin, Canada finished a respectable 5th with 24 medals. 7 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. For 2010 the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has set a couple of goals for the athletes - they want to win the medal standings and want to do this with 30 total medals, the Germans led in 2008 with 29 total medals. With all the resources and funding that has been put towards the games, this does not seem out of the realm of possibilities. The Canadian athletes are training on any finished venue in Vancouver/Whistler and we are having a super world cup season this year. Winning downhill skiing races on both the men's and women's side, dominating long track speed skating and winning races in the bobsled. Unfortunately, some of the Canadian athletes we will be looking to win medals in 2010 don't quite feel the same about the COC's plan.

Alpine skier Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., says the COC's goal is unfair. "The guys who set those objectives, it's pretty easy to sit behind a desk and say we are going to win all these medals, we're going to be the best winter country out there, just kick everybody's ass," he said. "It's not that easy. "I think that was a mistake. When you are saying things like that it is added pressure to athletes."

WTF??!!?? Why are you even racing if you are thinking like that. Do you not stand at the top of the hill before every race and say to yourself - I am going to win! If you don't, you are cheating yourself, your parents, your sponsors and the taxpayers who are helping you train each day instead of working at the Rona.

Skeleton racer Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man., has similar concerns. "It might be reaching a little bit and perhaps putting a little undue pressure on some athletes that aren't necessarily medal potential," he explained. "It's an ambitious goal to undertake.

WTF??!!?? Aren't medal potential? You cannot qualify for the Olympics if you don't meet specific guidelines. These guidelines are in place to ensure every athlete has a chance at the medals. I know skeleton racers are probably a little bit crazy, but this is really nuts.

The COC has finally come around and move their message from "participate and do your best", which is the message if you are 6 years old, to "produce medals", which is the message you give adults who have been competing at a high level for many years.

One more asinine statement - this one from a 6 time medalist.

"When we go to compete, I don't think we should be focused on the medals because that could put too much pressure on us," Cindy Klassen said.

Don't professional athletes thrive on pressure? Ask any NBA if they want the ball in their hands as the game and shot clock is running out. Ask any NFL QB if they want the ball with two minutes left down by 4pts. They will all answer yes. For Klassen to say this is irresponsible and untrue.

Finally we have a athlete that likes what the COC is doing - and to no surprise she is a medalist in both summer and winter Olympics;

"I think we have to believe that," said alpine skier Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C. "You have to put the intention out there and you have to really believe that you can do it in order for it to happen. You have to almost have that ego."

Maybe Emily Brydon should take some of these other athletes under her wing...