Sport | Health – British Columbia — No gold is awarded to the nation that takes home the most medals at the Vancouver Games, yet for a few countries, the battle to rack up the most golds, silvers and bronzes can be one of the most competitive sports at the Olympics.
The United States entered the final weekend assured of at least tying Germany for the most medals ever won at a Winter Games with 36. But in proclaiming the accomplishment, the American officials made no mention of the fact that many of the athletes who have contributed to the medal haul are those who have famously gone their own way, sometimes barely linked to United States Olympic team programs.
In speedskating, Shani Davis, winner of a gold and a silver, has such a strained relationship with U.S. Speedskating, the sport’s national governing body, that he does not allow his biography to be posted on its Web site. Lindsey Vonn, who won a gold and a bronze in Alpine skiing, was cultivated in the U.S. Ski Team system but now receives intensive independent training.
The snowboarder Shaun White, who won a gold, prepared for the winter season by training privately on a halfpipe that was financed by Red Bull, his sponsor.
“Nobody’s really telling Shaun White what to do,” said Jake Burton, the founder of Burton Snowboards, whose company also sponsors White.
Mr. Burton also serves on the board of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. With celebrity athletes like snowboarders, he said: “It’s like a world-class tennis player or golfer. If they’re looking for support or coaching, it happens on their terms.”
The United States is one of the few nations that does not publicly finance its Olympic athletes. That state of affairs has given rise to a fluid, entrepreneurial system that is alternately blamed for athletes’ shortcomings and praised as their greatest advantage. Competitors with enough star power can pursue independent careers while promising athletes are nurtured in more traditional development programs.
This hybrid system has dismayed officials in some sports, like track and field, whose leaders have accused athletes of allowing agents and shoe company representatives to make many of their career decisions. But it seems to work well in the Winter Games, in which American athletes have more than held their own this year against traditional powerhouses like Germany and Norway.
Other factors have also contributed to the United States’ success in the standings, including the addition of sports to the Olympic program that play to the Americans’ strengths, like snowboarding and short-track speedskating. The United States Olympic Committee has also increased investment in winter sports, a boost that began before the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Read more »