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B.C. athletes make up 39 per cent of Olympic team

When the Olympic Games get underway in Athens this weekend,

When the Olympic Games get underway in Athens this weekend, British Columbians will have more than a few of their own to cheer on.

Although Team Canada will be smaller this year – only 266 athletes in 2004 compared to 311 in 2000 – 39 per cent of the athletes will be from British Columbia. B.C. athletes will also be competing in 27 of 30 Olympic sports.

In addition, B.C. athletes make up 24 per cent of the Paralympic Team this year.

All told B.C. sent more than 200 people to Athens, including athletes, coaches and officials – the most ever for the province.

Still, the team selection was not without controversies.

First of all, there was the Canadian Olympic Committee’s decision to cut back on the number of the athletes making the Games. In previous years you had to have a top-16 ranking or world championship result to get a green light for the Games. This year, in a move to increasing funding and support for athletes that the COC says have the best chance of winning medals, only a top-12 result or ranking would suffice.

As a result Canada is sending its smallest team to the Olympics in 32 years. In 2000 Canada won a disappointing 14 medals, and the COC hopes to improve on that this year.

Athletes who missed the top-12 cut are miffed by the COC’s decision to cut the size of the team. Not only did they feel that they should have been given notice earlier, they also pointed out that top-16 results are generally good enough for Commonwealth Games, PanAm Games, World Championship qualification and acceptance into Sport Canada’s own Athletes Assistance Program.

They also feel that the restrictions will take a lot of promising up and coming athletes out of the picture. Beckie Scott, who was recently awarded the Olympic gold medal for cross-country skiing, was not even in the top-16 when she went to the Salt Lake Games.

Two boxers in the top-16 successfully appealed the decision and were named to the team after an independent arbitrator found that they were not informed of the rule change early enough to give them a chance of meeting the new criteria.

Another source of controversy this year was the decision to name Montreal’s Nicolas Gill, a judo fighter with two Olympic medals in three Olympic appearances and three world championships to his name, as Canada’s flag bearer. It turns out that Gill, who is recovering from a ligament injury to his knee, voted for Quebec sovereignty back in 1995, and made comments that he feels "more like a Quebecer than I do a Canadian" and would like to carry the Fleur-de-lis at sporting events. He also said, on record, that "I don’t really compete for Canada, I compete for myself."

In this Olympics the closest Whistler connection is Courtney’s Kiara Bisaro, a mountain biker who lived in Whistler for several years before moving to Vancouver Island to train year-round. Alison Sydor and Ryder Hesjedal both ride in Whistler regularly, participating in races like the Cheakamus Challenge.

B.C. Athletes in Athens

Athletics

Diane Cummins – 800 metre

Emilie Mondor – 5,000 metre

Stephanie McCann – Pole Vault

Gary Reed – 800 metre

Badminton

Anna Rice – Women’s Doubles

Canoe / Kayak

David Ford – Men’s K-1 Slalom

James Cartwright – Men’s C-1 Slalom

Margaret Langford – Women’s K-1 Slalom

Kamini Jain – Women’s K-4 500 metre

Cycling

Manon Jutras – Women’s Road Race

Alison Sydor and Kiara Bisaro – Women’s Mountain Bike

Ryder Hesjedal and Seamus McGrath – Men’s Mountain Bike

Gymnastics

Gael Mackie – Women’s Team Competition, Individual All-Around, Beam, Floor, Uneven Bars and Vault

Kate Richardson – Women’s Team Competition, Individual All-Around, Beam, Floor, Uneven Bars and Vault

Ken Ikeda – Men’s Team Competition, All-Around, Floor, Horizontal Bars, Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse, Rings and Vault

Modern Pentathlon

Monica Pinette – Women’s Individual

Rowing

Scott Frandsen, Kevin Light, Ben Rutledge, Kyle Hamilton, Adam Kreek, Andrew Hoskins, Joe Stankevicius, Jeff Powell and Brian Price – Men’s Eight

Barney Williams, Jake Wetzel, Tom Herschmiller, and Cam Baerg – Men’s Four

Dave Calder and Chris Jarvis – Men’s Pair

Jon Beare, Jon Mandick, Iain Brambell and Gavin Hassett – Men’s Lightweight Four

Fiona Milne and Mara Jones – Women’s Lightweight Double

Buffy Williams and Darcy Marquardt – Women’s Pair

Sarah Pape, Karen Clark, Roslyn McLeod, Andreanne Morin, Jacqui Cook, Pauline Van Roessel, Anna-Marie de Zwager (with Romina Stefancic and Sabrina Koker) – Women’s Eight

Sailing

Nikola Girke – Women’s 470

Ross MacDonald – Men’s Star

Softball

Alison Bradley, Angela Lichty, Auburn Sigurdson, Cindy Eadie, Erin Cumpstone, Erin White, Jackie Lance, Kaila Holtz, Kim Sarrazin, Kristy Odamura, Rachel Schill and Sasha Olson

Swimming

Brent Hayden – 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 4X100m Freestyle, 4X200m Freestyle, 4X100m Medley

Brian Johns – 200m Individual Medley, 400m Individual Medley, 4X200m Freestyle

Brittany Reimer – 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle

Mark Johnston – 400m Freestyle, 4X200m Freestyle

Mike Mintenko – 100m Butterfly, 4X100m Freestyle, 4X200m Freestyle, 4X100m Medley

Rick Say – 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 4X100m Freestyle, 4X200m Freestyle

Scott Dickens – 100m Breaststroke, 4X100m Medley

Riley Janes – 100m Backstroke, 4X100m Medley, 4X100m Freestyle

Taekwondo

Ivett Gonda – Women’s Under 49kg

Triathlon

Sam McGlone and Carol Montgomery – Women’s Triathlon

Simon Whitfield and Brent McMahon – Men’s Triathlon

Water Polo

Rachel Riddell and Sue Gardiner – Women’s Team

Wrestling

Daniel Igali – Men’s Freestyle 79kg

Lyndsay Belisle – Women’s Freestyle 48kg