GOLD and SILVER BABY!

This morning was a bit of a sleep in and a nice slow morning. We enjoyed breakfast with Megan and chatted. Today was going to be our last event and our last day in Vancouver at the 2010 Olympic Winter games. It felt a bit bitter sweet.

We caught our bus just about noon at our favorite location, BCIT. It's where we've been taking all but one of our buses from. It's a bit of a hike, about 45 min on public transit. I just didn't realize that it was so far away when buying the departure tickets. Oh well, it wasn't too bad. Anyway, another 2 hour bus ride to Whistler.

The women's bobsleigh promised to be an exciting event. Last night were the first two runs, and the two Canadian teams sat first and fourth. With two more clean runs there was a chance for one or two medals.

As usual, we were early to the venue. We walked through Whistler Village, grabbed a bite to eat and headed up the gondola to the sliding center. There already seemed to be more excitement than usual.

I wanted to start at the top of the track, where we could watch a few of the starts, get some good photos and have a view of the big screen, and a place to sit. Ugh, it took 30 min to get to the top, damn that hill is steep. We took up seats in the stands just as it was starting to fill up. We had the families of the athletes sitting right behind us. It was cool to see their excitement and listen to their stories. Mind you I was just ease-dropping. The snow was on and off, wet and cold, but it didn't matter, this was going to be exciting!

We watched the first run for all competitors from the start. It's awesome to see them live, pushing these 500 lb sleds down the ice and jumping in. After the first run the Canadian teams were still sitting pretty. We decided to start walking down the track for the last run, catch a few in different corners and finally be at the bottom when the Canadians take their last run.

The closer we got to the bottom the more excitement filled the air. The Canadians were going to be in the last few to go since they held the top spots. The crowds were the biggest we've seen at the sliding center yet. I wanted to get close to the finish area, but it was just way too crowded. Instead, we took up a spot on the hill where we could watch the entire last corner and the big screen. It was a great vantage point. Especially seeing the crowd, and I knew what was about to come.

There were a few accidents, which are scary to see and hear. One of the last to go ended up crashing just before the last curve, which we saw on the big screen. Next thing you notice is the sled go by on it's side, followed by one of the girls flat on her back sliding on the ice at over 100 km/hr! Now that was intense. First crash we'd seen where someone fell out. Crazy! Good thing it was ice, road rash would be a bitch at that speed, and I'm sure it was bad enough on the ice!

Then it was Canada 2's turn.... the crowd was electric and intense. We watched the big screen as they came down the track... they had a great run going. The zoomed by in the last corner, taking over first place... whoot whoot! Only a few sleds left to go! As the others when by, the Canadians held onto that top spot! They were now guaranteed a silver, with only the Canada 1 team left to go!

At this time the crowd was just going nuts. We could now take gold and silver with a great final run. I can only imagine the stress and pressure the girls at the top waiting to go had. They can see the big screen and know the times and who's in what place before they go. They were off... great start and looking good. It felt like forever for them to reach the last corner. All they had to do was finish and they had the gold. The crowd was already going nuts. As they crossed that line and the time was shown, the place just erupted. I've never been at an event or in a crowd that was that excited. It was fantastic, Olympic Gold and Silver for Canada!

After the best event yet there was plenty of time on the bus ride back to contemplate the adventure of the Olympics we just finished on a high of highs, and how I had always dreamed of being an athlete in the games myself. Maybe if things would have been different, but you can't regret those things now. There is always curling... you can still do that when you're old. ;)