2010 Memories, Day 8: Jon Montgomery wins gold and Canadian hearts
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2020 14:00:53 +0000
Follow along as we look back at the moments that made headlines each day during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Feb. 19, 2010: With a swig of beer and some over-the-top exuberance rarely displayed at the Olympics (particularly from us reserved Canadians), Jon Montgomery became the nation’s golden boy with a winning skeleton run at the Whistler Sliding Centre that featured a victory lap for the ages.
Following his golden run, as he made his way through Whistler Village for his press interviews, Montgomery grabbed a pitcher of beer from some Olympic revellers and took a sudsy swig that some say completely changed the mood of the games.
“Either he was one of us or we were lots of him but the distinction between athletes and fans was dissolved and the Games at that moment became about all of us,” Vancouver Sun columnist Iain MacIntyre wrote at the time. “Maybe knowing it was not only about them eased the pressure on our athletes, and this release of burden — or at least the sharing of it — led to the remarkable string of medals the final week.”
His gold-medal celebration certainly perked up Canadian spirits on what was a dreary day for the host nation which included the celebrated men’s downhill team failing to post a podium finish and women’s skeleton favourite Mellisa Hollingsworth, who won bronze at the 2006 Games, finishing a disappointing fifth.
“It’s really hard,” Hollingsworth sobbed through a mask of tears. “I feel like I’ve let my entire country down.”
Montgomery’s rock star moment propelled him from being a little-known sliding athlete to a national sensation.
After the games, the auctioneer from Russell, Manitoba managed to ride the wave of his new-found fame into a longtime gig hosting Amazing Race Canada.