With the United States fast start to it’s medal haul, Canada’s shot to win the most hardware at the Vancouver Olympics may be over already.

We take you behind the scenes this month with our timely Vancouver Games Blog, an insider perspective on sport medicine and science headlines, talking points, statistical data and emerging trends.

With Erik Guay finishing 5th in the Men’s Super-G,  as of today, Canada’s Alpine team, which had lofty ambitions going into the games, has yet to make a podium and many questions are being asked about their lackluster performance.  An article by Paul Waldie in today’s Globe and Mail discusses where the Own the Podium objective sits currently in light of our futility on Whistler’s slopes:

The Americans have raised the bar a little bit because they have over-performed in a few sports,” said Chris Rudge, the COC’s chief executive officer. “I think we thought we’d be around fourth right now.”

Before the Games, Mr. Rudge said Canada’s goal was to finish first in the medal standings, and he estimated that would take between 28 and 34 medals. Thursday, he said the strong start by the Americans could change things.

“The Americans are out of the box fast. I give them all the credit,” he said. “We’re on our plan; others are slightly ahead of theirs.”

The United States has 6 medals thus far in 4 alpine events where Canada, expecting to collect some hardware, has been shutout.