Did Canada boycott the Olympics?

Question

I remember seeing the Canadians at the opening ceremony and there were close to 400 athletes competing for them. I've been watching the Olympics a lot the past week and I haven't heard anyone mention anything about Canada. I looked at the medal count yesterday and they weren't listed and there is no info about them that I saw. I asked a Canadian friend about it and she said that after the opening ceremony Canada pulled its athletes from China and boycotted the rest of the olympics for some political reason...it had something to do with pollution she thinks. I doubted her story because I hadn't seen it on the news, but then she got real nasty and said I probably only watch Fox News and I'm the typical arrogant American that thinks he knows everything. Is this true? Why would the media not talk about this more? It kind of surprised me to hear that, but then again, I've heard nothing at all about the Canadian team. It's like they don't exist, so perhaps she is right. Is she?

Answer 1

No. The Canadian team is just undertrained.

Answer 2

Canada is a winter nation... with the winter olympics in 2010 in vancouver the entire focus of the Candian Olympic Committee is to "own the podium" in 2010.  Our summer people got squat and its showing.   That said, most the events we are hoping to collect in are later in the games.  theres still hope

Answer 3

I think that you may be worried without cause. How very kind of you to care.

There is a full team of Canadians having a great time in Beijing. You don't need medals to have a good time.

Answer 4

According to a Recent popular US article on the L.A. Times.

A little question of history. Mordecai Richler (a Canadian satirical novelist and satirical children's novelist) once suggested that what defines Canadians is the fact that we're all, quite literally, losers--and we've never gotten over the fact. Nobody actually actively chose to live here because they really liked the idea. The natives, who were always here, didn't choose to have the European-dominated country of Canada imposed on top of them--but they lost battles, and so became Canadians. Losers. The French in Quebec are Canadians because the British defeated them back in the eighteenth century (and they sure don't like that fact these days). Losers, right? The British-based population of Canada consists of two major groups: United Empire Loyalists, the people in the American colonies who sided with Britain in the war of independence and lost, and so had to flee to Ontario and the Maritimes; and immigrants from England, most obviously people who were doing poorly there, losers at the game of life who decided to set out and try again somewhere else. Losers all again. Throughout this century, people who have immigrated to Canada have tended to be people who have lost elsewhere--lost wars, lost land, etc. Losers yet again. My own ancestors came here because of pogroms in Eastern Europe that destroyed their homes--and would have preferred to go to the US but they couldn't get in, so they settled for Canada, poor losers. We Canadians aren't patriotic because we really only settle for being here, all of us, rather than being delighted by it--and we love to whine about it. Losers for sure, eh?

Summer games is the "real" Olympics.

winter games is just a knock off.

Greece did not start it on slush

Answer 5

From one Arrogant American to Another...

No they aren't Boycotting the Olympics...they just HAVEN'T placed ABOVE 4th in anything (that's why there are No Stats displayed )...Don't you LOVE being referred to as "An Arrogant American"???LOL

Answer 6

Nope , we're there and having a better itme than the US and not jacked up on roids :)

Answer 7

Wow, this is the second question from you concerning the Canadians at the Olympics.  It's nice to know that there are non-Canadians out there with so much concern for us.  Thanks.

Answer 8

Wow -- please tell you Canadian friend to stop spreading such rumours.  And please tell her that she should represent her country in a more mature manner.  She is ruining our reputation as being polite -- polite people don't say such rude things to people asking genuine questions.  Well, sometimes we do give very sarcastic answers to silly YA questions like "DO all Canadians live in igloos" ... but that's just our sense of humour!

We did not boycott the games.  The Summer Games just aren't our forte.  Wait until 2010 and you will see how well a Canadian can compete.  I'm sure that all of the Canadian athletes are very honoured to represent Canada at the games.  They achieved a great deal just by qualifying to be there.  Medals are everything.

Answer 9

no... we just aren't doing very well...  though we should get medals in the rowing competitions i think

Answer 10

no we're bthere, unfortunately we SUCK so far in the events, we should do better in the second week where we have some good chances in some of the events like baseball, softball, rowing, kayak...the COC has predicted a 16th place or better finish, Canada just doesn't put the money into the summer games like other countries, our thing is more winter sports