Winning boatloads of medals at the Summer Olympics is generally exclusive to major sporting nations such as the United States and China.

Occasionally, though, second-tier athletic nations, such as Canada, feature a special athlete who breaks through in his or her specialty or peaks at the perfect time for Olympic glory.

Based on Canadian Olympic Association predictions, our nation is expecting many such breakthroughs this year. It is forecasting an impressive 12th-place finish in medal standings.

At the last Games, our Olympians would have had to win 24 medals to pull off that feat.

Hopefully, most of our competitors as they compete will ignore such high-pressure predictions from officials and the media.

I think it would be more fitting for athletes to have a great experience at the Olympics, to feel flattered to be forever known as an Olympian. They should not be pressured by ridiculous predictions about how they will fare in their sport.

Should something positive happen on the medal front, then the athlete should savour it.

This is something that crossed my mind during Tuesday’s Olympic challenge for Halifax gymnast Ellie Black.

Black, 16, didn’t go to London as a medal favourite. Neither did her peers on the Canadian women’s gymnastics team.

Yet, with the entire world watching, something very positive happened to Black and her teammates.

By topping all her Canadian colleagues in vault, beam and floor, the Halifax Alta Gymnastics Club member played a key role in getting Canada an eighth-place standing in Sunday’s preliminary round and a spot, for the first time in a non-boycott Olympics, in the eight-nation team final against the usual heavyweight teams.

As well as doing that, she also earned a berth in next Sunday’s vault final and a chance at an individual medal.

Her efforts drew glowing compliments from Canadian television commentators, including former gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt, who said her performance was outstanding. Her Halifax coach and former Olympian David Kikuchi described it as awesome.

So it was expected that Canada would have at least a decent showing on Tuesday.

It became apparent early though that Canada wasn’t going claim a medal. The Americans were simply in a class by themselves. The Russians were strong, even if they eventually settled for a disappointing second. Surprisingly, the Romanians upset the powerful Chinese for the bronze.

Yet Black and her teammates exceeded expectations. They certainly did themselves proud in nailing down fifth place.

They provided consistent, strong performances despite the pressure. And Black, in particular, showed the type of talent, poise and confidence expected of top Olympians.

As I watched her perform, it struck me that many young female gymnasts in Nova Scotia must have been glued to the television for any glimpse of Black, whether she was performing in one of her events or simply enjoying the show with her teammates as they watched the action from the sidelines.

Imagine how they’ll be devouring her mature and modest quotes over the next few days as the Citadel High School student relates her thrilling experiences in London, during and after the competition.

By the time Black is finished as a competitor at these Olympics, and that will come following Sunday’s floor vault in the individual finals, she will have become an ideal inspiration for many young athletes in this province.

I can’t think of a more positive legacy from any young athlete’s first Olympic experience.

(ccochrane@herald.ca)