Own the Podium 2010

Speedskater Canada's Cindy Klassen shows off her gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games on February 26, 2008.

(CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Paul Chiasson)

Canada has hosted the Olympic Games twice—the Montreal 1976 Olympic SummerGames and the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games. Though Canada didn’t win a gold medal at either of the Games it hosted, the goal is that the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games will be a much different story.

Through the Own the Podium 2010 initiative, our goal is to win the highest number of medals at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and place among the top three in the gold medal count at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Own the Podium 2010 includes an innovative research program designed to provide Canadian athletes with the very best equipment, technology, information and training. The program provides Canadian athletes, coaches, and support personnel with the resources, leadership, and higher performance programming they need for training and competition.

Thanks to Own the Podium 2010, Canada’s winter athletes are already turning in some of their best international results in years. Launched in January 2005, Own the Podium 2010 helped Canadian athletes in the Torino 2006 Winter Games bring home a Canadian record of 24 medals. 

The total investment of Own the Podium 2010 is $110 million. The Government of Canada is the largest contributor to the program, investing $66 million over five (5) years through Sport Canada. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) is raising $44 million through corporate and provincial support.