The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games and also known as Vancouver 2010, were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University of British Columbia, and in the nearby resort town of Whistler. It was regarded by the Olympic Committee to be among the most successful Olympic games in history, in both attendance and coverage. Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines. Both the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), headed by John Furlong. The 2010 Winter Games were the third Olympics to be hosted by Canada, and the first to be held within the province of British Columbia. Canada had hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.
The Canadian Olympic Committee is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization.
Rebecca "Beckie" Scott is a Canadian retired cross-country skier. She is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. She is the founder of a national organization dedicated to improving health, wellness and education outcomes for Indigenous youth through sport and play. Scott was Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee, and gained notoriety for her position during the Russian (2014–2019) doping scandal. She served as an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu between 2006 and 2014. She is married to the American former cross-country skier Justin Wadsworth. They have two children, Teo and Brynn.
Angela Marie Ruggiero is an American former ice hockey defenseman, gold medalist, and four-time Olympian. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2010 to 2018 and served as a member of the Executive Board of the IOC after being elected the Chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, a post which she held from 2016 to 2018.
The World Olympians Association (WOA) is an independent association of Olympic Games competitors. Its stated objectives are to promote the Olympic ideals and fair play, advance environmental protection, educate against doping and drug use, supply educational resources, work against violence and intolerance, support diversity and equality, contribute to sport-related charities, host special hospitality centres, involve Olympians in social support, display positive role models, advance sport management and promote a culture of which sport is an important part.
Enefiok Udo-Obong, also known as Enee, is a Nigerian sprinter and accomplished athlete. He is also a writer, speaker, businessman, and administrator.
Jüri Tamm was an Estonian hammer thrower and politician. Representing the USSR, he won a bronze medal in the 1980 and 1988 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics. He set the world record for the hammer in 1980.
Anita Lucette DeFrantz is an American Olympic rower, member of the International Olympic Committee, and twice vice-president of International Rowing Federation (FISA).
The People's Republic of China (PRC) sent a delegation to the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
Thomas Bach is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to that position. Bach is also a former German individual foil champion, and former member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation's executive board.
The luge competition events of the 2010 Winter Olympics were held between 13 and 17 February 2010 at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
The Vancouver 2010 Terry Fox Award was awarded to Olympic athletes who embodied Terry Fox's values of determination and humility in the face of adversity. It was created for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver Olympic Committee collaborated with Fox's parents, Betty and Rolly, to create the award.
Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Tricia Catherine Marjorie Smith is a Canadian lawyer and Olympic rower who was elected president of the Canadian Olympic Committee. She sits on the International Council of Arbitration for Sport.
Mikako Kotani is a Japanese former synchronized swimmer who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, where she gained a bronze medal each for the solo and duet events, and the 1992 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to be Japan's flag-bearer for the 1988 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission is a majority elected body that serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. The mission of the IOC AC is to ensure that athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement decisions, representing future, current and recently retired Olympic athletes. The IOC AC aims to provide athletes with a platform to share their voice and experiences, and be part of change and decisions shaping the future of sport.
Art of the Olympians (AOTO) is an organization and program of Olympian and Paralympian artists that promotes the Olympic ideals of values, integrity, character, respect, honor, and work ethic through exhibitions and educational programs. It puts on traveling exhibitions, runs workshops, organizes talks at schools, to show and discuss the connection between sport, art, and the Olympics. AOTO previously operated a museum.
The rate of participation of women in the Olympic Games has been increasing since their first participation in 1900. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports remain for men only. Studies of media coverage of the Olympics consistently show differences in the ways in which women and men are described and the ways in which their performances are discussed. The representation of women on the International Olympic Committee has historically run well behind the rate of female participation, and long missed its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. As of 2023, 41.1% of members are women. The 2024 Paris Olympics were notable for being the first to have the goal of achieving gender parity between men and women.
OLY is post-nominal letters granted by the World Olympians Association (WOA) to registered athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games. The initiative was launched in 2017, and in 2022, post-nominal title PLY was introduced for Paralympic participants.
Michael A. Chambers is the former president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and senior partner at Maclaren Corlett LLP. As of 2021, Chambers serves as chair of the Association of National Olympic Committees Legal Commission, chair of the Panam Sports Legal Commission, and chair of the Ethics Commission of the International Canoe Federation.
