Music: {allcanada} CANADA SECOND IN GOLD, TOTAL MEDALS AT 2011 WINTER WORLDS

Thursday, May 19, 2011

{allcanada} CANADA SECOND IN GOLD, TOTAL MEDALS AT 2011 WINTER WORLDS

CALGARY -- Canada ranked second in both gold medals and total medals won in 2011 winter-sport world championships.

Canada won 13 gold behind Norway's 14 and captured a total of 31 behind Germany's 35, according to statistics compiled by Own The Podium.

Own The Podium oversees preparation of Canada's athletes for international competition and hands out federal government money to sports federations based on their medal potential.

OTP's goal for Canadian athletes was to win the most medals at their own Winter Games in 2010. Canada finished third behind the U.S. and Germany in the overall medal count with 26, but won the most gold at 14.

OTP's goal for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is to be the No. 1 winter-sport country in the world, but has yet to determine whether that means total medals or most gold.

The Canadian freestyle ski team led the country's charge for world championship medals, winning eight out of 12 available gold medals and 16 in total.

Ninety-one out of 92 medal sports at the Sochi Games had world championships this year. The team event in figure skating was not held.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce next month if it will add slopestyle events in snowboard and freestyle skiing, as well as a team Alpine ski event, to the 2014 Olympics.

In Paralympic world championships, Canada and Ukraine tied for fourth in gold medals with 6 behind Russia (16), Germany (9) and France (7).