OLYMPICS: Canada eyes more medals after long-awaited gold breakthrough in Italy

MILAN – For a nation deeply woven into Winter Olympics history, Canada’s 15th-place standing in the gold-medal count more than halfway through the Milano Cortina Games sparked concern that its campaign had yet to take off.

Long a powerhouse in winter sports—from Vancouver's historic 14-gold haul to decades of consistent podium finishes—Canada was still searching for its first top-step moment until freestyle skiing star Mikael Kingsbury won the dual moguls on Sunday.

The wait marked Canada’s longest gap without a gold at a Winter Olympics since the 1988 Calgary Games.

For David Shoemaker, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Kingsbury’s victory signaled a turning point.

"It's fair to say we're not accustomed to waiting this long for a gold medal," Shoemaker told Reuters on Monday. "I got to congratulate Kingsbury, and he remarked, 'That's our first, right?' He expressed the feeling we all shared—hopefully it's the first of several more to come. But there's still a lot of medal opportunities left in this competition."

Canada aims to surpass the 26 medals it won in Beijing four years ago. As of Monday morning, it had nine medals, ranking 15th in golds and 10th overall after 10 of 17 days.

Historically, Canada tends to peak in the second week, particularly in sports like men’s and women’s hockey.

"No doubt the nation’s attention is focusing on our hockey teams, and it should," Shoemaker said. "But our medal hopes remain across other sports, including short-track speed skating, women’s team pursuit in long-track, ski cross, snowboard, slopestyle, freeski, big air, and curling."

Canada had its share of near misses. Kingsbury’s silver in moguls came down to a tiebreak for gold, while Eliot Grondin missed gold in men’s snowboard cross by just three-hundredths of a second. Early injuries also impacted the team, with triple Olympic snowboarding medalist Mark McMorris missing the big air event after a crash.

The Games have seen early golds for Brazil and Australia—countries not traditionally strong in winter sports.

"There are more countries taking the Winter Games seriously, making competition tougher," Shoemaker said. "Seeing Britain win the mixed snowboard cross event, or a Brazilian atop the giant slalom, shows how global the Games are becoming. That’s great for the Olympics long-term."

Shoemaker remains confident Canada will finish the Games strong.

"We have a medal wall in all our villages, and it inspires our 206 athletes. Many said, 'Now it’s my turn,' which shows their confidence. Our team feels good about the chances still ahead." -Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Hugh Lawson/Reuters