Canadian Athletes Will Boost Medal Count: Poll

Canadians have high expectations for our athletes according to a poll conducted by Harris-Decima.

Half of the respondents thought Canadian athletes will improve on the 12 medals -- including three golds -- they brought home from Athens in 2004.

A mere 17% thought Canadians would win 16 or more.

The Canadian Olympic Committee itself is targeting a Top 16 finish in overall medal count for the games after finishing 19th in Athens.

When Harris-Decima asked 1,000 people about the Top 16 target, 61% said that seemed about right,16% though it overly optimistic and 11% not optimistic enough.

For the first time in Canadian Olympic history, Canadian athletes at Beijing will earn five-figure cash rewards for each medal.

The $20,000 prize for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze are not officially considered "incentives" by the Canadian Olympic Committee, although a 2006 COC report on improving performance said that cash incentives in other countries had resulted in a 25%-50% increase in Top 8 performances.