In 1960, Anne Heggtveit and Barbara Wagner were Canadian Olympians, sharing a room in Squaw Valley, Calif., and cheering each other on in their events - Ms. Heggtveit in downhill skiing and Ms. Wagner in pairs figure-skating.

Today, the women share something else: disappointment that their gold medal-winning performances from nearly 50 years ago will apparently not be acknowledged at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Ms. Heggtveit and Ms. Wagner both cherish memories of the 1988 Games in Calgary, where they were among a group of Canadian gold medalists who carried the national flag during the opening ceremonies for the event and also received tickets to events.

So far, however, they've received no invitation from the Vancouver Organizing Committee to play a similar role in next year's Games.

"I've been pretty disappointed that VANOC hasn't thought of doing the same thing," Ms. Heggtveit, 70, said yesterday from her home in Vermont, adding that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of her win, Canada's first for skiing.

"It could help to inspire some of the younger Canadian racers and up-and-coming kids. I just don't understand why they're missing the boat," Ms. Heggtveit said.

Ms. Wagner, 71, plans to come to Vancouver on her own dime, even though her efforts to purchase event tickets have so far been unsuccessful.

"My son tried to get some when they first became available [in the United States] but it didn't work out," Ms. Wagner said yesterday from her home in Atlanta, where she teaches figure skating. "So we're just taking a chance and we're going to Vancouver, because we love Vancouver and I want my grandchildren to experience the Olympic excitement."

A VANOC representative was not immediately available to comment on whether Canadian medal-winners would have a role in opening or closing ceremonies, or access to tickets.

The non-profit Canadian Olympic Committee does not have the financial resources to play host to Canadian Olympians at the Games, COC spokesman Steve Keogh said yesterday. There are about 2,400 Canadian Olympians, including "a couple hundred" medal winners, Mr. Keogh added.

The COC has facilities and programs, including Canada Olympic Houses in Vancouver and Whistler, that will be a "home away from home" for Olympians, past and present, at the Games, he said. The World Olympians Association will also be running a reunion centre in Vancouver's Chinatown during the Games.

Some Olympians believe more could, and should, be done.

"There's not that many [Canadian] medalists," Kathy Kreiner-Phillips said Sunday, adding that she received passes and tickets from the COC for the 1988 Games in Calgary.

Ms. Kreiner-Phillips, who won a gold in 1976 in Innsbruck, said she has not tried to purchase tickets on her own, although she's aware of some other Olympic medalists, including Nancy Greene Raine - winner of a gold medal in Grenoble in 1968 - who have.

Nor does Ms. Kreiner-Phillips intend to try to buy any, saying she expects her role in the Games to be limited to helping out with multi-faith centres in Whistler and Vancouver during the event.

"I just can't imagine this happening in any other country," Ms. Kreiner-Phillips said. "Here we have a chance to celebrate our success and we're not doing anything about it."