EU Federalists give Great Britain more reasons to cheer

By Holly Hamilton, Sportsbeat

CANADA might have topped the medals table at Vancouver 2010 but perhaps it is Europe who should be celebrating the real victory.

NORTH AMERICAN RIVALS: Canada and the USA were the best performing countries in Vancouver but how do they measure up against a united European team? (Getty Images)

The home nation picked up the most gold medals of the Winter Olympics, with 14, while the USA's tally of 37 medals was not bettered by any country.

But European nations featured in six of the top ten spots on the medals table and captured a total of 108 medals including 31 golds.

If we had truly embraced our fellow European Union (EU) members then we could have been celebrating a lot more success than just Great Britain's solitary gold courtesy of skeleton queen Amy Williams.

Well that's what the pro-EU federalists are arguing anyway.

They see sporting events as the perfect way to combat nationalism and bring European citizens together in a way often only sport knows how - united against a common enemy.

Indeed it is much more difficult to point out other's failings, such as Russia's disappointing haul of three gold medals, when you've failed to set the competition alight yourself.

However, with the force of European achievement behind you there is a sense of satisfaction in outdoing traditional powerhouses like Canada and the US.

But can it really be fair to compare a continent comprising 50 sovereign states with a population of over 730m to a country like Canada which has only 34m potential competitors who can fly the maple leaf flag?

Maybe not and let's not forget that Europe were afforded a lot more starting places then they would have been done if we were competing as one.

And as easy as it might be to celebrate the success of neighbours Norway, Switzerland or Sweden, who all finished in the table's top ten, it might not be as easy to stomach cheering on old enemies France or Germany.

Still, 108 medals sounds pretty good to me.