Canada spends big for Winter Olympic medals

Canada has spent heavily on science and technology to give its athletes every advantage on their home ground during the Olympic Games that begin today in Vancouver. The five-year, $117 million "Own the Podium" programme made investments in everything from software to biofeedback to help with the athletes' physical and psychological preparation.

Roger Jackson, CEO of Own The Podium, said the programme looked at 80 projects, some "top secret", and funded 55. "Thirty will have an effect on the Games," he said. "Probably half of our activity has not been publicly announced," he told The Globe and Mail.

Because the difference between a medal and fourth place is often measured in milliseconds, there is enormous pressure on sports professionals to come up with ideas that provide an extra edge. For example, the freestyle skiing and short-track speed skating teams are particularly excited about the performance technology — which uses electrodes connected to the athletes' bodies to measure brain activity, reaction time and heart rate — developed at the University of Ottawa.

Let the high-tech Games begin!