Place a laurel, the real thorny kind, on the head of Canadian fencer Sherraine Schalm for saying what no other Canuck dares in these Games:
"It really sucks to lose, it's so painful."
No happy to be here, no I did my best, no I'll now be a cheerleader.
Schalm went further than merely feeling bad for losing, she described in graphically:
"It's like I imagine being a man, it's like being kicked in the nuts repeatedly. You feel like you want to curl up and die."
Schalm, Canada's brightest hope in fencing, was under extreme pressure from all fronts, said Hamilton fencer Josh McGuire.
"She's our golden girl. While making the top 16 is OK for the rest of us, great things are expected of her."
Schalm, who has suffered from depression in the past and found solace in a Trappist monastery, joked that her psychologist "is going to kill me when he reads" her comments.
Canadians should salute her for her abject honesty. Other athletes should be as demanding as she is.
John Kernaghan
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