BEIJING, Feb. 2 (BUS): With the sporting competitions underway, the United States and Canada haven’t reached the peaks of Argentina and Brazil, but when it comes to the Winter Olympics, North American neighbors are raising the stakes.
The United States may overtake Canada at the Summer Olympics, but it outperforms its weight in the winter when medals are decided on ice and snow, Reuters reports.
For Canada, which ranks itself as a winter sports nation, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games presents another opportunity for its southern competitors.
Data Analysis Nielsen’s Gracenote anticipates an intense fight between Canada and the United States as they both racked up 22 total medals at the games from February 4-20.
The Americans tend to outperform the Canadians in the final standings, winning seven to six golds to finish fourth in the standings after Norway, Germany and the Russian Olympic Committee.
In the three previous Winter Games, Canada has won more gold than the United States, which is how the medal table is ranked by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
With a little creative accounting, the United States puts it first in 2010 and 2014 noting the total number of medals, including the record collected at the time at the 37 Vancouver Winter Games.
Therefore, a line was drawn in the snow for North American bragging rights in Beijing with many of the best medal prospects for both countries emerging at the same events.
For Canada, two medals are more important than all the others – men’s and women’s ice hockey.
Since women’s hockey became part of the Olympic program in 1998, Canada and the United States have won both gold medals.
The United States took first place in Nagano and last in the PyeongChang Winter Games. Canada swept four in the middle.
It will be considered one of the big surprises at the Beijing Games if the two opponents do not meet again in the Olympic final on February 16.
With the National Hockey League withdrawing from the Beijing Olympics in December after the COVID-19 virus forced the postponement of more than 100 games, hindering the men’s medal contenders has become even more difficult.
The United States and Canada, the two gold nominees before the NHL withdrew, are now question marks over the medal.
Canada will also look to make up for its crushing failure at the curling circuit in Pyeongchang where both the men’s and women’s teams failed to return home with a medal.
Canadian men marked the end of a streak of four straight Olympic titles in South Korea, while John Schuster awarded US curling gold for the first time and returned for the fifth Games to defend the title.
There will be some bad blood at the bobsleigh as Kylie Humphreys, after winning gold for Canada at the 2010 and 2104 Winter Olympics, escaped to the United States due to a feud with the national federation and will compete in Beijing as an American.
Snowboarding will also see some cross-border showdowns with Canadians Mark McMorris and Max Parrott looking good for gold in the downhill and Big Air.
The United States will once again seek to dominate the half-pipe with Shaun White, as he competes in his fifth Olympics in a bid to end his Olympic career with a fourth gold medal and Chloe Kim seeks to defend her crown in Pyeongchang.
A major advantage will go to the US on the alpine ski slopes as American Michaela Schiffrin prepares to be a one-woman machine competing to podium in five events.