“My biggest challenge will be handling all the extra distractions that come with having a Games on home soil,” said Lambert. “We will be in bigger cities with more parents, more family and friends and, of course, higher expectations.”
Lambert will be responsible for helping prepare Canadian athletes, coaches and support staff for an event where expectations will be sky high. The COC has set first place in the medal standings as its goal for 2010. Canada was third at the 2006 Turin Olympics with 24 medals, one behind the United States and five fewer than Norway.
Lambert said the process of preparing for the intensified spotlight will include several programs.
“Being at home allows for everyone to be a little too nervous and we’ll have psychologists and seminars to help prepare,” Lambert said.
The Montreal native is familiar with Olympic success, having won a gold medal in Albertville in 1992 and two silver medals in Lillehammer in 1994, all in short-track relay events.
One plan Lambert, 44, hopes to put in place is a communications strategy, which will allow those in the Canadian delegation to stay in touch more than in the past.
“It will kind of be like a Facebook for our team so we can update them on a regular basis,” said Lambert, currently a director of marketing with a sports club in Montreal.
Canada’s chef de mission has been thrust into the spotlight in past Olympics, most recently during the 2004 Athens Games when Nicolas Gill was chosen to carry the flag into the Opening Ceremony. Gill drew the ire of critics who noted the judo star voted for separation in the 1995 Quebec referendum.
“If something like that happens, the focus will be making sure we deliver the proper message to Canadians,” said Lambert, who was the assistant chef de mission in Athens.
COC president Michael Chambers said Lambert’s experience in Greece was a deciding factor in giving her the role.
“She knows quite intimately the job because of her experience, and if something comes up she will be able to respond without having to figure out how the system works first.”
Chambers also said Lambert’s experience as an athlete in Calgary was something emphasized during the selection process.
“She’s an athlete who competed at a Winter Games in Canada and that’s an invaluable experience she can bring to the athletes this time around.”
Short-track speed-skater Nathalie Lambert won gold in Albertville in 1992 and two silvers in Lillehammer in 1994. |
