Canada could possibly win as many as 25 medals

Well, our national conniption fit seems to have been buried under a deluge of shiny medals attached to red ribbons.
This time last week, our national collective patience was running thin as the Olympics stretched to a full week with nothing but goose eggs next to Canada's name.
According to the predictions in Sports Illustrated, which is usually pretty reliable in this area, we were due for 15 medals and not one of them was set to be awarded until Friday night, a full week into the Games. However, even with that knowledge, I was still getting pretty antsy myself.
Canada wasn't supposed to win any medals in swimming according to the American experts, but it looked like we had a couple of good chances. And when they failed, it started to concern the entire nation.
When the weekend arrived, the anxieties quickly fell away. That's when the events we were expected to do well in started. First there was Carol Huynh in wrestling, winning gold. A few minutes later, rowers Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen added a silver and shortly after that, wrestler Tonya Verbeek tacked on a bronze medal.
All of these athletes were predicted to win medals by Sports Illustrated. And fortunately for Canada, the parade just didn't stop.
As I write this on Tuesday afternoon (middle of the night in Beijing), seven of the 15 events we were predicted to win a medal in have taken place. We have failed to win a medal in just one of those seven events - the women's eights in rowing.
The three other events where we have been successful, along with the three mentioned above, were women's trampoline, men's eights in rowing and team jumping in equestrian.
On top of those expected successes, we've added seven unexpected medals as of Tuesday - two extras in rowing, and one each in men's trampoline, women's 100 metre hurdles, men's three metre springboard diving, men's triathlon and men's 1,500 metre freestyle swimming.
On Monday, after Canada had improved to nine medals, I started going through our possible medal hopes and came up with an absolute best case scenario.
At first I thought I was crazy when I finally came up with 25 medals.
I figured to achieve that unbelievable number, Canada had to successfully win medals in the eight remaining events that were expected. Those athletes who are predicted by Sports Illustrated to still win medals are: kayaker Adam van Koeverden (two); canoeist Thomas Hall; mountain biker Marie-Helene Premont; show jumper Eric Lamaze in the individual competition; and Sebastian Michaud, Ivett Gonda (note: Gonda failed to win a medal Wednesday) and Karine Sergerie in taekwondo.
On top of that, I figured we could get some extra medals from the following: diver Alexandre Despatie; Ian Millar in show jumping (along with Lamaze); a couple of extras in canoeing/kayaking besides Hall and van Koeverden; softball; triathlete Simon Whitfield; and two in athletics.
However, I still figured this was pretty farfetched.
And then Tuesday hit.
We won four medals on Tuesday and none of them were predicted by Sports Illustrated. Despatie and Whitfield both scored silver medals. Priscilla Lopes-Schleip came out of nowhere to win a bronze in the 100 metre hurdles in athletics and Jason Burnett won a second trampoline medal.
As of this writing, that leaves us with 13 medals with our expected medal events still to come.
Now, I'm getting positively giddy thinking about our medal hopes.
I now honestly believe it's possible (although I know this is pushing it) that we could get around 25 medals. Besides those extras medals I considered, we also have a shot at some other medals including in the 10 metre women's platform diving with Emilie Heymans and women's BMX racing with Sammy Cools.
So, as crazy as it may have seemed a week ago, this may become Canada's most successful, non-boycotted summer Olympics ever. Here's hoping.

Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.