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Canada’s Ashleigh McIvor shows off her gold medal after winning women’s freestyle skicross on Tuesday. (Gerry Broome/Associated Press)

Ashleigh McIvor never had childhood visions of being an Olympic gold medallist in skicross.

It wasn’t even part of the Games when she entered the sport, as an 18-year-ancient in 2002 — at that time, her dream was to qualify for the Winter X-Games.

But amid rumours that the International Olympic Committee was considering the inclusion of skicross for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, McIvor wrote an essay for her University of British Columbia English class, arguing that the sport should be added.

In her paper, McIvor compared skicross to BMX Racing, which was about to make its debut at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The IOC made it official in November 2006, granting skicross entry to the Vancouver Games. The success and popularity of snowboard cross, which debuted at the 2006 Torino Olympics, was a major factor in the choice.

After three seasons on the X-Games circuit, McIvor turned her attention to the Olympics, as soon as she learned that stepping on the podium was a possibility.

She immediately set her sights on winning gold — and place it in writing, said her coach, Eric Archer.

For a sport that is often compared to motocross on snow, McIvor’s relaxed attitude towards the dangers of the event may come as a surprise, especially since a broken leg finished her alpine ski career at age 16.

Young daredevil

But anyone who knows her would tell you that McIvor has always been a natural daredevil, since she was a toddler growing up in Whistler, B.C.

She used to ski down her parents’ carpeted steps when she was just two years ancient. Then, she took a liking to mountain biking on rugged trails, getting so excellent that she used to race — and beat — boys at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.

When she first saw skicross on a video, McIvor knew she had to try the sport. Within months, she had convinced her mother to drive her down to an X-Games qualifier in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in January 2003.

‘I’m different than most people. I don’t like to be uber-focused.’—Ashleigh McIvor

She qualified easily for the final. It was the start of her professional racing career — and the beginning of a string of endorsements.

The enthusiastic, attractive athlete was an instant dream for marketers trying to sell the sport.

Now, the 26-year-ancient McIvor’s face is plastered on Olympic promotional billboards in various Canadian cities. She’s front and centre, along with other featured athletes like Charles Hamelin, Patrick Chan, Melissa Hollingsworth and Manny Osbourne-Paradis.

But McIvor has managed to deliver on those expectations, making it to the podium in Vancouver.

Expections didn’t bother her

The reigning world champion was ranked second heading into the Games, and was one of three Canadians ranked in the top 5 in skicross. The others, 20-year-ancient Kelsey Serwa and 21-year-ancient Julia Murray, failed to make the huge final.

McIvor’s gold comes at a time when Canadians have been growing more cynical about the performances of our medal favourites.

There has been a highly publicized plot to have Canada’s top athletes — those ranked in the top 5 in the world — convert their pre-Games ranking into an Olympic medal. But for the most part, the favoured Canadian athletes haven’t performed up to the standard.

McIvor, just like the figure-skating duo of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir a day earlier, didn’t let the pressure of being a gold-medal favourite get to her.

“I’m different than most people,” she told CBCSports.ca before the Games. “I don’t like to be uber-focused. I like to just have fun with it and try to convince myself that it’s just another race with a bunch of friends.”

In addition to being a role model for young skicross athletes in Canada, McIvor might also be an example that sport psychologists use when talking about how to handle the pressure of high expectations at the Olympics.

“I just felt really comfortable, and at home, obviously, and it’s a excellent atmosphere for me,” she said.

“I spent way too much time bracing for the nerves that I thought were going to hit in the last few years, and it never really did. I was pretty cool the whole way through, and just looking forward to each run.”

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital officials said Tuesday that Dr. Barbara Heartwell, shown here in October 2009, performed a mastectomy on two patients who did not have cancer.

(CBC)

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor, Ont., is investigating a second case in which Dr. Barbara Heartwell performed a mastectomy in 2001 on a patient who did not have cancer.

Hospital officials made the admission late Tuesday night. Heartwell is a surgeon with 28 years experience.

“Today the hospital received detailed information about another event in which a patient was harmed,” said Kim Spirou, the hospital’s vice-president of communications and development.

The mistake was uncovered after the hospital started a review of Heartwell’s patient files last week following revelations of another error involving a patient under her care.

In that case, Heartwell performed a single mastectomy in the fall of 2009 on a woman who was initially told she had breast cancer.

It was only after the surgery that Heartwell told the patient she had made a mistake, and that the woman did not have cancer.

The error was brought to the attention of the hospital when the victim approached a local reporter with her tale.

At time, the hospital said Heartwell had misread a pre-surgery pathology report that ruled a lump in the woman’s breast was benign.

“The hospital is deeply troubled by these incidents and is firmly resolved to fully investigate and take whatever measures are required,” its CEO Warren Chant, said in a statement Tuesday.

“In the best interests of our patients, Dr. Heartwell has volunteered to temporarily withdraw from performing surgery pending the outcome of the hospital’s investigation.”

Olympic ice-dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue show off their gold medals, which Moir says they never could have won without the Own The Podium program. (CBC)

Two of Canada’s gold medallists are defending the Own The Podium program geared to winning most medals at the 2010 Olympics, and say they wouldn’t have won without the controversial program.

“I could honestly say that I would not have this thing in my hand without the Own the Podium program, quite simply,” Scott Moir said, holding the gold medal he and Tessa Virtue won Monday in the ice-dance competition.

‘It’s not, ‘first place or bust”—Heritage Minister James Moore

The pair made history at the event by being not only the first Canadians to win the ice-dance gold but the first North American team to manage the feat.

The $117-million Own The Podium initiative — $66 million of it from Canadian taxpayers — has been criticized for setting expectations too high and for making the Canadian Olympic team seem arrogant.

Moir said the program is necessary.

“Skating is a very expensive sport. There’s no way you could do it without help from your country,” said Moir.

Heritage Minister James Moore attended an International Media Centre celebratory event in Vancouver Tuesday with the new ice-dance champions and said the name of the Own The Podium program should not be taken literally.

“It’s not, ‘first place or bust,’” said Moore.

“It’s … ‘go for gold and go for broke and do yourself proud and perform at the best of your ability.’”

Although Canadian Ashley McIvor had not yet won her gold in skicross Tuesday when Moir spoke, he predicted more gold ahead.

‘The Canadian team is so strong’

“I just reckon that the Canadian team is so strong and we’re so much better than we’ve ever been and I really am having a hard time seeing the downfall of a program like Own The Podium.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee admitted Monday that it was mathematically impossible for the program to live up to its name.

Team officials now have their sights set on winning more than the 24 medals Canada won at the Winter Olympics in Turin, the most the country has ever won.

As of Tuesday night, Canada had won 11 medals and fewer than 20 events remained to be chose at the 2010 Games.