A year out from Paris, safe sport crisis has Canada redefining Olympic success

If an obsession with medals contributed to Canada's safe sport crisis, how will the country measure success in Paris?

In federal parliamentary committee hearings in recent months, MPs were told the pressure on national sports organizations to produce medals, and get funding to do that, contributed to toxic environments in which athlete welfare took a back seat.

A year out from the 2024 Summer Olympics, how Canada defines sport excellence is in question.

Canadian sports minister Pascale St-Onge has said "it can't only be about medals and podiums. We have to talk about the safety of athletes and their well-being as a whole."

What does that mean for the next Olympic Games, where Canada's athletes will strive for the podium?

"If we create an environment where we give all athletes all the tools that they need to succeed, and to do their best to show up at the proverbial start line in the best shape of their lives, physically, mentally, physiologically, we will then see great results for Team Canada on the medal table," Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker told The Canadian Press.

"We shouldn't be shy about our ambition to create safe, healthy journeys for athletes to the Olympic Games. And we shouldn't be shy about celebrating great Canadian accomplishments on the podium at the Olympic Games either.

"I'm a strong believer that those two things are not mutually exclusive."

WATCH | CBC Sports' safe sport in Canada panel discussion:

How Canada measures sport excellence is in transition, said Own The Podium chief executive officer Anne Merklinger.

"Sport, when it's done well, is incredibly valuable for our country," she said.

OTP was established before the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games