As with every Olympics now, Sports Illustrated has come out with its selections for the medal winners for all of the Olympic Sports. As usual, many people take exception on why someone was not selected to win their event or even place or show. It is not that SI is considered to be the best predictor of the results. I think they may be hitting .600 or so but as fas I know, their picks carry a cachet that no other sporting media does.
So what does SI pick for Canada at the Beijing Olympics:
Gold:
- Adam van Koeverden – Kayak singles 500 meters
- Canada -Men’s Eights
Silver:
- Thomas Hall – Canoe singles 1,000 meters
- Adam van Koeverden – Kayak singles 1,000 meters
- Marie-Helene Premont- Mountain bike
- Karine Sergerie -Taekwondo Women’s 67 kg (147.5 lbs.)
Bronze:
- Eric Lamaze – Individual jumping
- Canada – Team jumping
- Karen Cockburn – Trampoline
- Calder & Frandsen – Rowing Pairs without cox
- Canada -Rowing Women’s Eights
- Sébastien Michaud -Taekwondo Men’s 80 kg (176 lbs.)
- Ivett Gonda - Taekwondo Women’s 49 kg (108 lbs.)
- Carol Huynh – Women’s Freestyle Wrestling 48 kg (105.5 lbs.)
- Tonya Verbeek Women’s Freestyle Wrestling 55 kg (121 lbs.)
Fifteen medals: 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 9 Bronze. The distribution of medals looks a bit strange. Who knew that Canada is a powerhouse in Taekwondo and Women’s wrestling. Noticeable by their absence are medals in the swimming and diving events. While the Americans are expected to dominate the swimming events as is the Chinese for diving, I believe that Canada will sneak out of the pool with at least 2 medals perhaps as many as 4.
Canada may surprise in the women’s soccer event and I have a good feeling that Gary Reed will come through in the 800m race. But if history is any indication, what surprise medals Canada gets outside of these predicted results will be offset by those who fail to live up to their expectations. So with that in mind, I think the overall total and distribution of the medals will come close to the predicted results. Who receives what is still to be determined.