Heil among Canada's best bets for first home Olympic gold

By Gerard Meagher, Sportsbeat

CANADA have invested $110m to ensure they strike gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympics - they need look no further than moguls maestro Jennifer Heil.

GOING FOR GOLD: Jennifer Heil is among Canada's prime hopes for gold in Vancouver as she bids to defend her Olympic title

Surprisingly enough, Canada have failed to win a gold medal at the two Olympics they have hosted, settling for a combined total of seven silvers and nine bronzes from Montreal 1976 and Calgary 1988.

Canadian officials have come to the conclusion that extending that unsavoury record to three home Games simply will not do and have loosened their purse-strings to spark the gold rush next month.

The Own the Podium initiative has been set up by Sport Canada, the Vancouver organising committee and the Canadian Olympic Committee to provide Canada's athletes with the resources and expertise they require to succeed.

In truth, the seven gold medals won by Canada at Turin 2006 suggest that the hosts of the 2010 Games will, surely end their home hoodoo next month.

One of those seven gold medallists was Heil, who ‘owned' the moguls podium and while four years is a long time in sport, four consecutive World Cup victories in her last four outings hints at yet more Olympic success for the 26-year-old.

"I feel really focused right now," she said. "I've been trying to maximise my performances in every race and it's been paying off."