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Australians steal show at Commonwealth Games
Frustrated Canadian athletes say they need better training, additional travel and, above all, more money to have any chance of upstaging the Australians in two years.
"They can afford to go to different places and train, use the best facilities," sprinter Glenroy Gilbert said after winning a silver medal in the 4 x 100 relay during Monday's final day of competition.
"We need facilities, we need funding. We need just about everything. If we're ever going to be a world power like Australia we have to do a total overhaul of all our policies in terms of amateur athletes."
The 99 medals Canada won (30 gold, 31 silver, 38 bronze) is 29 less than four years ago in Victoria and well short of the 115 predicted by Margie Schuett, Team Canada's chef de mission.
The 30 gold medals are 10 less than Victoria.
Australia led the medal parade, its total fattened by 80 gold. England was next with 136 medals, including 36 gold.
The Australian federal government budgets about $160 million a year for sport. That's on top of what individual states spend. There's also huge cash incentives for athletes who win medals.
By contrast, the Canadian government spends about $58 million a year on amateur sports.
"Obviously you can see the Australian investment pays off very well," said decathlon coach Les Gramantik after Michael Smith finished third behind two Australians.
"I'm not saying the only reason they are doing well is because they have more money, but you can see the difference."
Many coachs favour a system of cash rewards for athletes who win medals, break records or perform personnel bests at events.
"Frankly Canada needs to do something very soon or we'll be sitting here trying to rationalize 75 medals, 50 medals," said swim coach Dave Johnson.
"The athletes deserve a better shake than what they are getting now. Many, many countries are doing this and it's not corrupting their programs at all."
Swimmer Joanne Malar, whose five Games medals includes a gold and two silver, said an infusion of cash from corporate Canada would help send athletes to crucial meets to gain experience.
"You can't grow Olympic gold medals without any funding," said Malar, who was born in Hamilton but now trains in Calgary.
"If we can get all that in gear and be able to afford to take our top athletes to the meets they need to go to and get the training they need, we'll be right with the Aussies."
Sprinter Mike Nicolini, of Navan, Ont., said he balances his training with holding a full-time job.
"A lot of the athletes feel like they are not getting the support they would like," he said.
"Even in preparation for the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, a lot of athletes feel the money is not given to them to get better."
Nicolini said there has been talk about establishing a track circuit in Canada and the United States where athletes could race for cash prizes to offset their expenses.
Gilbert, of Ottawa, has won Olympic and world championship gold medals. In Australia he'd be a rich man. In Canada he struggles to survive.
"If you have something, like a carrot dangling in front of you, I would be trying a lot harder," he said.
"I would go out there and put blood and sweat, everything down on the track. It's how we try to make our living."
Schuett said Canada's medal tally was reduced because wrestling, where we won 10 medals including nine gold in Victoria, wasn't a sport at Kuala Lumpur.
But Canada also won 10 less athletics medals, and failed to win a gold at the track for the first time in Games history.