Some icebreakers at the Olympics

No gold on the home turf

1. Canada has not won a gold medal in its two home Olympics — summer and winter. To avoid a repeat of that, the Canadian Olympic Committee started a funding program called Own the Podium before the 2006 Winter Games, and it produced an all-time-best performance of seven golds, 10 silvers and seven bronzes. (The country was third in total medals behind Germany, 29, and the United States, 25.) Daniel Johnson, an associate professor of economics at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, is among those who predict that Canada will win more medals than any other country. Twenty-seven, to be exact, just edging the United States and Norway. Johnson claims an accuracy rate of 94% over the last five Olympics.

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