While Canada’s finding success in different sports, rowing may have taken a step back

It's easy to make the case that these have been a remarkable Olympics for Canada thus far, as athletes are picking up unexpected medals in plenty of different sports. The 10 medals Canadians had collected by the end of Saturday (one gold, three silver, six bronze) put Canada in 11th place as sorted by total medals, in line with the Canadian Olympic Committee's stated goal of a top-12 finish, not too far off the 22-to-24 medal pace expected to be required for that and pretty close to the pace for the 18 medals Canada earned in Beijing. However, while Canadians are shining in sports like judo, weightlifting and swimming, the traditionally-dominant rowing program seems to have taken a bit of a step back.

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It wasn't all bad for the rowers, of course. Both the women's and men's eights came away with silvers, and that's certainly impressive. However, it's a bit down from the four medals (one of which was gold) achieved in Beijing in 2008, and only three crews made the A final. This isn't just about Olympic-to-Olympic performance, either, as there obviously have been significant personnel changes in both the Canadian team and the world's field over the last four years, so the 2008 performance can't be simply expected to repeat itself. What's more disappointing is that the two medals and three A-final placements (in addition to the men's and women's eights' silvers, Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen finished sixth in the men's doubles final) falls substantially behind the Canadian team's pre-Olympic goal of three to five medals with five to six boats in the A finals. That has Peter Cookson, Rowing Canada's high-performance director, saying the organization will have to look at the London data to figure out just what went wrong this time around:

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From an overall perspective, it's probably good for the Canadian medals to be a bit more widely-distributed. The success of athletes not expected by many to be medal threats, including judoka Antoine Valois-Fortier, synchronized divers Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito and oft-unlucky swimmer Brent Hayden (who missed the 100-metre freestyle in Athens thanks to injuries suffered when he was beaten by riot police), is a pretty strong indication of the depth of Canada's athletic talent, and it's useful ammunition against those who'd argue that we should only fund athletes with clear medal hopes. Unexpected things often happen at the Olympics, and Canada clearly has some athletes who have been able to outperform expectations on the biggest stage. However, that saw about unexpected events cuts both ways, and the struggles of the rowing program prove that no medal predictions really are safe.

We'll see if Canada's able to pick up enough medals in the home stretch of the Olympics to keep that top-12 spot. Regardless of the standings, though, the displayed depth across sports is terrific for Canada's future Olympic goals, even if the rowing struggles are a bit disappointing. If the programs with less historic podium success can maintain this level and the rowers can return to form in future Games, the Canadian team could be one to watch out for down the road.

More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Canada Sports:
• Guide: What to watch Sunday, August 5
• Photos: Track and field fashion statements
• Want to row for Canada in the next Olympics?