Canada entered the 2010 Winter Olympics with an “Own the Podium” mantra. The goal: win the most medals and finish atop the medal standings.

It won't happen. And maybe it wasn't a realistic goal to begin with.

To win the most medals, Canada would have needed strong results in sports that hand out a lot of medals. It's great to have gold medal threats in hockey and curling. Canada will be playing for a medal in both men's and women's hockey and curling. But those two sports account for a total of four medals.

Alpine skiing has 11 events which award medals. Through February 24, Canada had zero alpine skiing medals. Canada has also been shut out in the biathlon, which has 10 medal events, and cross-country skiing, which has 12 events.

Speed skating also has 12 events that offer medals. Canada has won four speed skating medals.

Few expected Canada would win a medal in cross-country skiing or the biathlon. So maybe “Own the Podium” was a doomed concept from the outset. Most Canadians can't name an active cross-country skier or biathlon competitor.

But there were hopes that Canada would do better than four medals in speed skating, and zero medals in alpine skiing.

Some of Canada's athletes might have been victimized by the burden of high expectations. But they had to know entering the Olympics that there would be high expectations. Canada has enjoyed strong results in alpine skiing and speed skating in recent years, and Canadians hoped those results would translate to the Olympics.

It's not good enough to try your best and have a personal best when the Olympics are held in Canada and you're expected to medal. When you train for four years to win a medal, a fifth place finish is disappointing.

Now there is one thing that should be noted. The International Olympic Committee bases their medal standings on the country that wins the most gold medals, not the most overall medals.

Canada might have 15 medals as of February 24 (compared to 28 for the U.S. and 23 for Germany), but Canada has seven gold medals to their credit. The U.S. and Germany also have seven. And with events in hockey, curling, speed skating and short-track speed skating still to come, Canada has a very real chance of winning the most gold medals.

Whether Canada finishes atop the medal standing might come down to a technicality. Canada might not “Own the Podium” in 2010 because they didn't win enough bronze medals, and Canada doesn't produce many world-class cross-country skiers. But winning the most gold medals would be a tremendous accomplishment.