As the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games already start to fade from our memories, I have one more Olympic post before moving on to a new topic.  I simply call it:

My Top Ten Moments of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

10. William Shatner telling us about Canadians knowing how to make love in a canoe.

9. Charles Hamelin wins the Gold medal and Marianne St. Gelais runs up to hug him – and he gives her bum a squeeze!

8. Clara Hughes winning the Bronze medal in the 5,000 m Long Track Speed Skating.

7. Marianne St. Gelais’s enthusiasm and wonderful smile! Especially her cheering when Charles was racing.

6. Floating beavers and moose in the closing ceremonies.

5. The display of patriotism across the country and a real feeling of national pride.

4. Jon Montgomery drinking from a pitcher of beer while walking through Whistler Village.

3. Joannie Rochette’s short program, only 2 days after her mother died.

2. The dozens of renditions of “I Believe” highlight reels – made me cry every time.

1. Sidney Crosby’s Gold Goal!

It’s back to the real world for now. It has been a pleasure sharing the Olympics with all of you! And I look forward to hearing about your Olympic moments!

Don’t forget – Thursday night is Networking with Excellence and Integrity.  There are a few spots left, please email me if you’d like a spot.

What a different experience this Olympics has been, especially in terms of technology. Two years ago, during the Summer Olympics, Twitter was still in its infancy.  iPhone was still new to Canada. Streaming web live was still a bit painful. Fast forward to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: iPhones seem to be everywhere, Twitter has truly become a global phenomenon, and the live web stream provided by the CTV/Rogers Media consortium has been excellent.

One of the things I have really been enjoying is connecting with people from all over the world, in real time, on Twitter. There is something about feeling like you are connected not only across Canada but to Canadians in other countries when you are cheering GO Canada GO! from your living room.  And it’s great to see others cheering for their countries and their athletes.  It’s all about the perspective I mentioned in an earlier post.

Last night should have been called Terrific Thursday.  Gold medal game – Women’s Hockey – Canada defeats USA 2 – 0.  Three Olympics in a row! The men looked on – and they look HUNGRY for their own Gold Medal. And Joannie Rochette won a Bronze medal in Women’s Figure Skating.  I did stay up to watch her skate, it was hard not too.  What a phenomenal accomplishment! Anyone else remember when Elizabeth Manley won the Silver medal in 1988? That was the last time a Canadian woman stood on the podium in singles Figure Skating.

Setting up today and tomorrow – wow – we still have many medal opportunities.  Here’s the summary for you:

• Canada vs Slovakia – Men’s Hockey 9:30 pm EST
• USA vs Finland – Men’s Hockey 3:00 pm EST
• Canada vs Sweden – Women’s Curling 6 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 500m Men’s 9 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 5,000 m Men’s relay 10:50 EST
• Other events today include 4 man Bobsleigh, Alpine Skiing (slalom) and Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom

Should be a great few days to cap off an already amazing Winter Games for Canada.

Stay tuned, I may publish another post tomorrow as we move into the final days of the games to keep you all up to date, in case you’re not as obsessed as I am.

Quick reminder – email me to register for Networking With Excellence and Integrity on Thursday March 4th, 7 pm @Burlington Central Library.

Have a super day and catch some of you on Twitter!

What can I say about Women’s Wonderful Wednesday? After an amazing day by our women in the Olympics, we are tied with the US and Germany with a total of 7 Gold Medals. Maybe it’s not too late to give up on Own the Podium?  And the domination of our Men’s Hockey team against Russia really was the icing on the cake.

Now I do realize that there are many other important things going on in the world, there is still a disaster in Haiti, we are still dealing with a recession and housing crisis and the winter weather is still playing havoc in the US and Canada – but isn’t it way more fun to enjoy the Olympics right now?  I think that more than anything, we all needed a feel-good story. 2009 was a very difficult year for so many people, especially my generation who had yet to live through a recession (almost depression) as adults. There has already been a change of energy in 2010, and you can feel that people are more optimistic and more open to taking a bit of risk and having more fun too!

I have to admit, I am really blessed to have a split schedule, so that I can watch some of the events in the afternoon when I’m not teaching that afternoon.  Yesterday, I found it hard to tear myself away from the computer (where I watch the games thanks to CTV) and even spent time watching tv at the mall in between clients! Anyone else having the same issues?

Just in case you missed it, or live under a rock, or aren’t as obsessed with Canada – here are the highlights from Wednesday Feb 24:

• Women’s Bobsleigh Gold – Kaillie Humphres and Heather Moyse
• Women’s Bobsleigh Silver – Shelly-Ann Brown and Helen Upperton
• Women’s Long Track 5000 m – Clara Hughes
• Women’s Short Track 3000m relay – Marianne St-Gelais, Tania Vicent, Jessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge
• Canada vs Russia – Men’s Hockey Quarter Final- 7 -3 Canada!

Clara Hughes is truly a phenomenal athlete.  She is the only athlete in the world to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. What a way to end her Olympic career!

What is even more special is that we have many more true medal chances in the last few days of the games. Here are some of the highlights of what is coming up:

• Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game – Canada vs USA 6:30 pm EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Women’s vs Switzerland @ noon EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Men’s vs Sweden @ 5 pm EST
• Joannie Rochette skates the long program in Women’s Figure Skating, 8 pm EST – She is currently 3rd
• Men’s Aerials Finals – 3 Canadians competing at 9 pm EST
• Friday night – Men’s Hockey Semi-Final Canada vs Slovakia (big upset here as well – Sweden is out) 9:30 EST
• Short Track – there are events for both women and men on Friday, starting at 9 pm EST

Hope that helps you plan out the next two evenings. Time to get back to work! Don’t forget – next week is the Networking with Excellence and Integrity seminar, on March 4th.  Email info@julieboyer.com to confirm your spot.

Here’s to a Terrific Thursday for Canadian Olympians!