Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Q

Canadians helping Russia own the podium

Cathy Priestner-Allinger reflects on the costs and benefits of focusing on the medal count.
CBC Radio ·
Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, and Russia's Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov are among the Russian athletes that have earned medals during Sochi 2014 (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)

From the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Jian speaks with Cathy Priestner-Allinger, one of the masterminds behind Canada's successful Own The Podium program.  

Before the 2010 games in Vancouver, Canada had never won a gold medal on home soil, and medal counts overall were low. Priestner-Allinger helped change the tides, culminating in a games that saw Canadian athletes win the most gold medals of any nation.

The program's success caught the eye of Russian sporting officials, who hired Priestner-Allinger and her husband Todd Allinger to help their country create and implement a similar program. 

Priestner-Allinger shares the surprising similarities she saw between the two countries, defends the merits of focusing on medal counts, and reveals who she'll cheer for if Canada faces Russia in a hockey final. 

More from this episode