Somewhat surprisingly, up until 1984 no Canadian male competitor had ever won an individual gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games. Speed skater Gaétan Boucher broke his country’s duck at the Sarajevo Games in 1984 in spectacular style, leaving with two gold medals and a bronze.

On 25 February 2006, Clara Hughes was crowned Olympic champion in the 5,000m at the Olympic Oval in Turin. Her success in speed skating, winning a total of four medals came after a podium finish in road cycling in Atlanta, 10 years earlier. The Canadian champion is the only athlete to win multiple medals at both the Winter and Summer Games.