Summary: The President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Tricia Smith has presided over a four year - and counting - cycle for which there is no precedent. Smith was at the helm when Canada put athlete's health ahead of 'compete at any cost' thinking, which helped tip the international decision to delay the Tokyo games. But this pandemic year is certainly not Smith's first experience with interrupted games. Looking back to the boycott years in the 1980s, while she was an Olympic rower, Tricia Smith says the important thing to do now is remember the purpose behind the Olympic games. More than ever, she wants to renew efforts to keep politics out of the Olympics. The lawyer, businesswoman, and long serving defender of institutions that promote fairness in sport looks back over her 35 years in the Olympic movement and sees a mostly good, but still mixed bag of results. Gender equity would appear to be a winning battle. Inclusion for more athletes who come from less wealthy backgrounds? That's still a work in progress. Anastasia Bucsis, host of CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice podcast, leads the conversation through a friendly review of a long strange year indeed.
