Top Five

Last week CTV came out with a list of its ten most memorable Winter Olympic memories. And as per usual the list was dominated by athletic performances over the past three Winter Olympiads. In fact there were only two achievements on the list that predated the 1998 Games in Najano, Japan and only 1 Olympic performance that predated the 1980 Games in Lake Placid;. that being Nancy Greene's gold medal performance in downhill skiing at the 1968 Games.

My top five list is as follows

#5) Barbara Ann Scott's Gold Medal Skate at the 1948 Winter Olympic Games becoming the first and only Canadian to win individual gold in the sport of figure skating.

#4) Elizabeth Manley. In what was supposed to be a battle of Carmens since both Debi Thomas and Katerina Witt both skated to the music from the opera Carmen, Elizabeth Manley came from out of no where to take Olympic silver. Who could forget the jubilation that Manley expressed while doning a white cowboy hat at the conclusion of her performance.

#3) Gaetan Boucher - In what was an unthinkable achievement at the time Gaetan Boucher skated to double gold in the sport of speed skating at the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Boucher's two gold medals were Canada's first in the sport and Canada's first gold medal in any sport (winter and summer alike) since Kathy Kreiner's win at the 1976 Winter Games.

#2) Nancy Greene - Her Gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble France has linked her name to the sport ever since.

#1) Gold Medal Victories in Hockey at the 1952 and 2002 Games. Before the 2002 Games Canada's last gold medal in the sport of ice hockey was won by the Edmonton Mercury's at the 1952 Games in Oslo Norway. That is until Mario Lemieux and team went out and broke a 50 year curse and sent jubillant Canadians from coast to coast to the streets.