Canadians do not deserve the athletes they have representing them at the Beijing Olympics.

Anchors, reporters, (so called) sports reporters and far too many other Canadians should hang their heads and apologize for the disparaging statements and attitude heaped on our athletes during the first week of competition.

Watching the cloying behaviour of these same anchors, reporters, sports reporters and other fair-weather Canadians when the terrific performances being turned in by Canadian athletes finally broke through to the podium clearly demonstrated how warped our values have become.

While they were not winning medals our athletes were turning in personal bests and setting new Canadian records. What more can we ask of our athletes, indeed of anyone, than that they perform to the best of their abilities?

People complain about “the kids today” but what life lessons are we teaching them with this “it only counts if you win a medal” attitude?

I salute those who have won medals; it is great to see all their hard work and sacrifice rewarded.

I hail those who pursued their dreams to Beijing, who realistically had no chance of winning a medal and still turned in a personal best performance.

That is character. That is performance.