My response to a journalistic slap in the face

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Canadian swimmer Julia Wilkinson was stung by a writer's criticism of Canadian athletes in a story that appeared on CBCSports.ca (Feng Li/Getty Images)

Last week, a former swimmer forwarded me a link to a story by Paul Gains on CBCSports.ca with the headline "Canadian track athletes have a lot to learn."

The swimmer was offended by the author's tone and wanted to know my opinion since I'm both an international-level athlete and a writer. I have to say that, when I read the article, it was the journalistic equivalent to a slap in the face, even though it was a commentary about Canada's track and field team, not the swimmers.

However, with less than a year to go before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, all Canadian athletes are one team. Whether you're a hurdler, a soccer player, a swimmer or a triathlete, you are part of Team Canada. It's my hope that the Canadians who will not be competing at the Games - retired athletes, up-and-comers and non-athletes alike - will band together to support the team.

We are all Team Canada once that torch is lit. And when criticism bordering on belittling comes from within our own country, from our own media, we don't have a hope to succeed.

At the time the article was posted, Canada had yet to win a medal at the 2011 IAAF world track and field championships (we'd later get a silver medal in the shot put thanks to Dylan Armstrong, who became the first Canadian to reach the podium in a throwing event at worlds).

Don't get me wrong, not winning medals is not "good enough" and I feel confident saying that because that's the standard I've put upon myself. I'm sure it was also the standard of the Canadian athletes competing at the track and field worlds in South Korea. I know that not reaching the podium is not "good enough" and, trust me, you don't need to tell us that. However, it's unfair to say that anything short of the podium simply isn't "good."

I want to win a medal for Canada in London. I will probably feel incredibly unfulfilled for a long, long time if I fail next year. But does that mean I'm not proud of my top-10 finishes? Absolutely not. How many people can say they are 10th-best in the world at anything? Not many. If someone told my mom, an eighth-grade teacher, that she was the 10th-best English teacher in the world, our family would probably be pretty stoked. So why is fourth, fifth, or eighth such a failure in our profession?  

Sacrifice

That being said, I hope no one jumps on me at this moment and accuses me of exemplifying the "Canadian attitude" that many athletes are accused of having. Just because we're not throwing ourselves from hotel windows when we don't win medals, some people believe we're complacent. We're trained to tell the media something positive after a bad race, but that doesn't mean that, on the inside, our hearts aren't breaking when we come up short. And I'll tell you why: it's because we give everything we have to this sport.

In a country where the No. 1 priority seems to be education, Canadian athletes must choose to put their university degrees on hold to train for the Olympics, putting themselves further and further behind their peers when it comes to their ability to get a job, make money and support themselves comfortably in the future.

With few well-established national training centres, we must move far away from our families and friends to train. I only go home to Ontario to see my family twice every year, and Christmas flights cost well into the $1,000 range for only a few days of family time.

We go through painful injuries and possible career-ending surgeries. You know that feeling when you're just too sore and tired to get out of bed in the morning? We feel that every day. But I'm not complaining. I love my life, and when my coach tells me that I might "bleed a little from my eyes" at a workout that day, I dive in headfirst (literally).

People need to know how much we do sacrifice, so that everyone understands that we want these medals just as much as the Americans, Brazilians or Kenyans. But being the best in the world is a really hard thing to do. That's why it's such an amazing feat.

Money well spent

One of the most discouraging comments I've heard is, "Why are we wasting our tax dollars on athletes who can't bring home medals?" Well, here's a theory: when we support our athletes, they become more visible in the media. Kids then see the athletes and idolize them. How many kids decided to play hockey because they wanted to "be like Wayne Gretzky?" And in a country where obesity among children is rising (over a quarter of Canadian children under 17 are overweight or obese), one of the best solutions is getting kids away from their Playstations and onto fields, courts and pool decks. According to the Childhood Obesity Foundation, the direct and indirect costs of obesity in our country cost taxpayers $4.3 billion in 2001.

So before you grumble about where your tax dollars are going, consider the benefits of supporting athletes for more than a medal count.

When it comes to criticism, we can take it. By all means, tell us that we need to do better. But when Canadians are telling their own athletes that they should "take up chess" because their performances are so awful, it hurts more than a hard workout, a close loss in a race or a bad bout of tendonitis because we're putting our heart and soul into our sports, I promise you.

There's one year left to London, and we know it's crunch time. I'm not naiive about how hard this year is going to be for me, but I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes to win a medal for this country.

And I'm not alone: Paula Findlay, Ryan Cochrane and Perdita Felicien are doing everything they can to win a medal. Dylan Armstrong already did, and I'm sure he'll work that much harder so he can bring home gold in 2012.

Across the country, hundreds of athletes are dedicating 100 per cent of their lives to their sport for the chance to stand on the podium for Canada. It would be nice if we knew the country was behind us. 

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