Thank you.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
On the heels of our discussions last week, I would like to once again acknowledge how important it is to Canada's athletes with a disability to know that the Government of Canada and you, as our elected leaders, care about how they perform. On behalf of Own the Podium, I cannot thank you enough.
Henry mentioned earlier, and allow me to also acknowledge, that the Government of Canada is the single largest contributor and investor in high-performance sport in Canada. It's only with your investment that Canada's athletes with a disability can continue to perform on the world stage.
I'd like to focus on three primary areas for my remarks: Canada's performance relative to the rest of the world; a closer look at the sports that were targeted by Own the Podium and how they performed; and the key findings and lessons learned for 2016 and beyond.
How did we do? Well, Henry already touched on this, and it's not as rosy a picture as it was when we had our discussions last week around our Olympic team's performance. Our objective going into the 2012 Paralympic Games was to finish in the top eight in gold medal count. We knew going into the games, based on our analysis of our performance in 2010 and 2011, that target would be pretty difficult, if not impossible, to attain.
In the end, we won seven gold medals in total and finished 20th overall, based on the gold medal count. That was down from our 19 gold medals in Beijing and our seventh place ranking in 2008. We won a total of 31 medals and finished 13th overall, as Henry mentioned. This, too, is down from the 50 medals we won in total in 2008 with a 10th place ranking in overall medals as a nation.
The trend line for Canada's performance in the summer Paralympic Games is clearly downward. Canada was an early leader in Paralympic sport from 1988 to 2004, very much due to the strong position our government and Canada took in terms of social policy. Since then, over the past eight years, many nations have surged and the competitive landscape is significantly different. Nations like Russia, Poland, Australia, Ukraine, and China have focused heavily on Paralympic sport and their results in London were terrific, with increases in the number of gold medals won ranging between 18 and six.
Next to South Africa, Canada suffered the biggest drop in gold medals won, down 12 from 2008. Again, for us, as the technical organization, we knew going into this particular set of games that we were in a tough position, but we know very well that we need to make some significant changes going forward.
Let's take a look at how some of the sports that were targeted by Own the Podium performed in London.
In the summer Paralympic environment we traditionally rely on two big sports to garner the majority of our medals: swimming and athletics. There are 950 medals available just between those two sports alone at the summer Paralympic Games, a fact that really reinforces the importance of those two sports to Canada's overall performance at the games.
Swimming did okay. They performed reasonably well, but athletics really struggled. They were down 10 medals in total from 2008 and captured only one gold medal as compared to the 10 gold medals that they won in Beijing.
OTP's investment strategy for Paralympic sports heading into London was focused entirely on gold medals. There were 11 sports targeted to win one or more gold medals, and five of those sports delivered. We definitely have some work to do with those sports that weren't successful in delivering gold medals.
I have some important observations to share with you that tell a story over and above the actual performance metrics. There were some terrific performances.
I mentioned swimming. They led the way, capturing four of Canada's seven gold medals and 16 of the 30 medals won for our entire nation. Summer Mortimer emerged as a new Canadian hero in her first Paralympic Games and an athlete with a huge career ahead of her in Paralympic sport.
Canada's team sports, similar to how we performed in London in the Olympic Games, did extremely well in the Paralympic Games, with the men's wheelchair basketball team winning the gold medal against an extremely tough field. The wheelchair rugby team won a silver medal, and much like the women's Olympic soccer bronze medal, it truly had a gold-medal lining.
Conversely, London served as a wake-up call for several targeted sports.
We knew going into the games that several sports would struggle in delivering medal performances. The stark reality of the level of competition, which Henry so accurately described, really emerged in Paralympic sport. This sent a powerful message to every leader involved in high-performance sport for athletes with disabilities in our country.
London 2012 established a new benchmark for every nation involved in Paralympic sport. It's a serious business. It's much more serious than it ever has been. With the depth of competition, the level of competition, the number of nations winning gold medals, the number of nations competing, the quality and number of full-time coaches involved in the top programs, and the level of investment being made by other top nations, the world is taking Paralympic sport much more seriously than it has in the past.
Finally, let's look at the key findings and lessons learned. What do we need to do differently going into 2016 and beyond?
First and foremost, we need to invest in more and better full-time coaches and technical leaders in Paralympic sports. Without great coaches and technical leaders, we can't produce podium potential athletes.
Second, and Henry mentioned this, we just do not have a deep enough talent pool of athletes. Without a broader base, we are really stretched to produce podium potential athletes in our country. We need to invest in a deliberate recruitment strategy. We simply need more athletes with disabilities at all levels of our high-performance system.
We can improve the integration of Olympic and Paralympic programs where relevant. This can assist in elevating the overall level of professionalism within some Paralympic sports. We need a strategy to recruit more severely disabled athletes, particularly in our two big sports: swimming and athletics. We will be working closely with Canadian Sport Centres, Canadian Sport Institutes, and all the provinces and territories to help develop a much stronger system of excellence in our country.
Canadian communities need Paralymlpic heroes. They inspire and motivate Canadians with disabilities to embrace an anything is possible approach to everything they do. They serve as role models for aspiring to excellence, and they instill a belief that we can win. Our Paralympic champions connect with Canadian families and reinforce the importance of sport and physical activity, healthy living, and being active for life.
Thank you once again, on behalf of all Canada's athletes and coaches, for the tremendous support you have provided in our quest to help more athletes win more medals in the Paralympic Games. Knowing that you care, believe in, and support these athletes in their pursuits means so much to them.
Thank you very much.