Day 1 – Wednesday, July 20th
Softball & Soccer
The Canadian women’s teams had some positive results on Day 1. The Canadian women’s soccer team tied the host nation, Japan, in their first game of the tournament. The Canadian’s walked away with an important point after Great Britain beat Chile. The Canadian women’s softball team had a dominant 4-0 win over Mexico. They are at the top of the standing with Japan and the United States.
Day 2 – Thursday, July 21st
Softball
The only event for the day for Canadian’s was the women’s softball game against the United States. The team suffered a setback with a 1-0 loss to the Americans. This defeat places them in third behind the undefeated Americans and Japanese. They look to bounce back against Australia tomorrow.
Day 3 – Friday, July 23rd (Opening Ceremony)
Archery
Both of our Canadian archers made their debuts today. Stephanie Barrett (Newmarket, ON) was the first of the two athletes to participate in the ranking round. She is ranked 46th of 64 athletes. She scored 630 points by hitting 11 tens and 3 inner tens. She is ranked 61st in the world in the recurve category. She will compete against Turkey’s Yasemin Anagoz in the elimination round. On the men’s side, Crispin Duenas (Toronto, ON) is ranked 36th in the world. During his ranking round, he ranked 16th and will now face Dan Olaru, of the Republic of Moldova, on Tuesday’s elimination round. In the mixed team event, where both athletes point totals are combined. Canada was one position away from qualifying to the top 16 elimination round.
Rowing
Rowing is underway at the Olympic games this morning, there was plenty of Canadian contingent on the first day of sculls. Trevor Jones (Lakefield, ON) began the day in the Men’s Single Sculls. He topped his heat and will move onto the quarterfinals. Carling Zeeman (Cambridge, ON) placed second in her heat in Women’s Single Sculls and she, too, will compete in the quarterfinals. The last of the Canadian rowing contingency for the day were partners, Gabrielle Smith (Unionville, ON) and Jessica Sevick (Strathmore, AB), who were competing in the Women’s Double Sculls. The pair came second in their heat and will move on to the semifinals. All three events will be taking place on Sunday evening.
Day 4 – Saturday, July 24th
Badminton
Both of the men’s, women’s and mixed double teams were in action today. The men’s team was up first against the number two-ranked pair from Indonesia. The pair of Jason Ho-Shue (Markham, ON) and Nyl Yakura (Pickering, ON) were in tough in their matchup. They lost in straight sets, 21-12 and 21-11. They will play Korea on July 25. The women played a closer game against the Dutch. Rachel Honderich (Toronto, ON) and Kristen Tsai (Burnaby, BC) started off with a first set win but then lost consecutive sets. They will also be in action again on July 25. The mixed group of Joshua Hurlburt-Yu (Scarborough, ON) and Josephine Wu (Edmonton, AB) lost in straight sets to the third-ranked Thailand pair. They will face Great Britain on July 15.
Beach Volleyball
Both of Canada’s beach volleyball teams were in action today. The first group of Sarah Pavan (Kitchener, ON) and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto, ON) won their opening match against the Netherlands of Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon. They won in straight sets. The second pair of Heather Bansley (Waterdown, ON) and Brandie Wilkerson (Toronto, ON) competed against the Chinese group of Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia. The pair lost their match to the Chinese 2-1. Both groups will be back on July 26 & 27, respectively.
Boxing
The only Canadian men participating in the boxing event was in action today. Wyatt Sanford (Keenetcook, NS), welterweight, fought in his preliminary round against Merven Clair of Mauritius. Sanford lost in a unanimous decision. This loss marks the end of his Olympic games.
Cycling (Road)
Michael Woods (Ottawa, ON) narrowly missed the podium in the 234km Olympic Road Cycling Race. It was a tight race in the last 5km of the race and a sprint finish to the line but he finished in fifth place. The other Canadian contingents Guillaume Boivin (Longueuil, QC) and Hugo Houle (Sainte-Perpétue- QC) finished in 65th and 85th, respectively. Houle will look to his next event, the men’s individual time trial on July 28.
Equestrian
Chris van Martels (Ridgetown, ON) participated in Group B of the Dressage Individual Grand Prix. He placed seventh in his group with a score of 68.059. To progress to the finals, aside from the top two scores in each group, the top six total scores in all of the groups will move onto the individual final. As of this moment, it seems that van Martels will miss the final. We still have Canadian hopefuls that could qualify to the finals in Lindsay Kellock (Newmarket, ON) and Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (Saint Bruno, QC) on Day 2 on July 25. After the first day of the Team Dressage event, Canada is currently in 10th place. There are still two more countries yet to perform.
Fencing
In the men’s individual sabre event, Canadian Shaul Gordon (Richmond, BC) was facing Mojtaba Abedini of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the round of 32. The Canadian narrowly took the lead out of the first period over his competition but Abdini managed to squeeze out the lead at the very end. After the midway point, Abedini never relinquished the lead. Gordon’s tournament ended in the round of 32.
Field Hockey
The Canadian men’s team participated in their first game of the Olympics. They lost in a rout to the Germans. This loss places them last in their group. They will face Great Britain in their next game on July 26.
Gymnastics
The only Canadian competing in the men’s gymnastics all-around event is René Cournoyer (Repentigny, QC) finished outside of the top 24 and therefore will miss the finals. He also did not finish in top eight of any of the apparatus and will not compete in those finals either.
Rowing
The pairs started the rowing events for the day. The women’s pair of Caileigh Filmer (Victoria, BC) and Hillary Janssens (Cloverdale, BC) won their heat and qualified for the semifinals on July 26. The men’s pair of Kai Langerfeld (North Vancouver, BC) and Conlin McCabe (Brockville, ON) finished third in their heat and will automatically qualify for the semifinals.
The next event was the lightweight women’s double sculls. The Canadian women participated in the second heat, the pair of Jill Moffatt (Bethany, ON) and Jennifer Casson (Kingston, ON) finished in second. They, too, will move on to the semi-finals. Patrick Keane (Victoria, BC) and Maxwell Lattimer (Ladner, BC), the men’s lightweight double sculls, finished third in their heat. They will need to participate in the repechage to earn their spot in the semi-finals. The repechage is scheduled for July 24.
The women’s 4 event is making its first appearance in the summer olympic games since Barcelona 1992. The Canadian women participated in the first heat and finished in third. They will continue onto the repechage round to hopefully qualify to the finals. The men’s 4 will also need to compete in the repechage to qualify into the finals. They finished last in their heat. Both repechage rounds will take place on July 25.
The final event of the day is the women’s 8. The top three teams were very tight in the final 500m of Canada, Republic of China and New Zealand. The Canadians just missed out on first place by 0.32 seconds. They will now need to compete in the repechage to make their way into the finals.
In summary, there are three teams with automatic bids to the next round and four teams that will need to participate in the repechage round to move on. It will take place on July 27.
Soccer
The women’s soccer team were back in action again at the Olympics against Chile. Janine Beckie (Highlands Ranch, CO) scored both goals for Canada after Kadeisha Buchanan (Brampton, ON) early goal was disallowed after a suspected handball. Chile scored a goal in the second half on a penalty kick but it wasn’t enough. Canada defeated Chile 2-1. They take the 3 points and are now behind the undefeated Brits, who they will face on July 27.
Softball
The Canadians routed the Australians in their third game of the Olympic tournament. The women came out to an early 3-1 lead when Jenn Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC) hit a ground-rule to centre that cashed in 2 runs. They had another “run” happy inning in the second where they scored three. One more run in the fourth inning to reach the final score of 7-1. The Canadian’s leapfrogged the Australian for third place in the tournament. They will face the Japanese in their next game on July 25. This is the decisive game to determine the top two teams that will qualify for the gold medal game.
Swimming
The swimming events kicked off at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Five individuals and one team competed for Canada on day one. Katerine Savard (Pont-Rouge, QC) and Margaret Mac Neil (London, ON) competed in the third women’s 100m butterfly. Mac Neil topped the heat and Savard finished fourth. Both have qualified for the finals on July 25.
The next women’s event for the Canadians was the 400m individual medley, Tessa Cieplucha (Georgetown, ON) and Sydney Pickrem (Halifax, NS) competed in heat 2. Cieplucha finished last in the heat and Pickrem did not start the race. Unfortunately, neither of them qualified for the finals.
The lone male to compete on day one was Gabe Mastromatteo (Kenora, ON). He competed in the 50m breaststroke, he finished sixth in his heat and missed out on the top 16 times therefore he will not compete in the semi-finals. In the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay event, the Canadian’s finished third in their heat and will compete in the finals on July 25.
Table Tennis
The mixed doubles pair of Eugene Wang (Ottawa, ON) and Mo Zhang (Richmond, BC) took on the top-ranked pair of Xin Chn Xu and Shiwen Liu from China. They took the first set from the Chinese but relinquished the remaining four sets. They have been eliminated in the tournament. Jeremy Hazin (Richmond Hill, ON) was also eliminated in the round of 32 by Slovak Bojan Tokic. He lost in straight sets.
Taekwondo
The ninth-ranked Yvette Yong (Vancouver, BC) faced eighth-ranked Thi Kim Tuyen Thruong from Vietnam. It was a decisive win by the Vietnamese after she kept Yong off the scoreboard until round 2. Yong’s tournament will end in the round of 16.
Tennis
Both of the women’s singles and doubles competition was in action today. Leylah Fernandez (Laval, QC) made her debut at the Olympic games with a back and forth three set victory over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. She will now face Barbora Krejcikove of the Czech Republic in the second round. The Canadian combo of Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON) and Sharon Fichman (Toronto, ON) lost to unranked Brazil in straight sets.
Volleyball
The men’s team began their Olympic tournament against Italy. The Canadians took a close first set 28-26. The second set was another back and forth until the Canadians broke away at the end to take it 25-18. The Italians climbed back in the third set to take it 25-21 and cut the lead to 2-1. Canada gave up another set, 25-18. They gave up a large early deficit and could not make a comeback. In the fifth and final set, Italy continued momentum to complete the comeback. The men will look to come back against the Japanese on July 26.
Waterpolo
The women’s team began their Olympic tournament with the preliminary round match up against the Australian. The score was tied in the first quarter but the Australians kept the lead through the rest of the game. After their loss, they are tied in 3rd in group A and will now face Spanish on July 26.
Day 5 – Sunday, July 25
Badminton
In day two action, the Canadians have representatives in four events. The first group in action was the men’s doubles group play. The pair of Jason Ho-Shue (Markham, ON) and Nyl Yakura (Pickering, ON) took on the Koreans. They lost in straight sets for the second day in a row. Both are looking to bounce back in their final group game on July 27.
Michelle Li () made her Women’s single debut at the Olympic games. She won a straight sets rout against Guatemala’s Nikte Alejandra Sotomayor. She is the ninth ranked athlete in this competition and she currently tops her group.
In the women’s doubles, Canadians Rachel Honderich (Toronto, ON) and Kristen Tsai (Burnaby, BC) lost their second close set game. They were beaten by the number three-ranked pair from Japan. They took the first set again and lost the next two sets in a very tight fashion. They will play again on July 27.
The mixed doubles pair of Joshua Hulburt-Yu (Scarborough, ON) and Josephine Wu (Edmonton, AB) lost another straight sets match to the British. Their next game is on July 26.
Boxing
The only Canadian in action in boxing is Mandy Bujold (Kitchener, ON). She is competing in the flyweight division. She lost her opening round bout against Serbia’s Nina Radovanovic by unanimous decision. Due to her loss, she will not move onto the next round and marks the end of her Olympics.
Canoe/Kayak Slalom
Two Canadian athletes were competing in the canoe/kayak slalom heats. On the men’s side Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) competed in the first heat of the men’s canoe slalom. He finished 16th in his heat and did not qualify for the semi-finals. In women’s kayak slalom, Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) finished 13th in her heat and qualified for the semi-finals on July 27.
Cycling (Road)
The women’s road cycling race was on tap today. The Canadian’s had three riders in this race. Karol-Ann Canuel (Amos, QC) was the top finisher in 16th. Alison Jackson (Vermilion, AB) and Leah Kirchmann (Winnipeg, MB) were not far behind in 32nd and 36th, respectively. Kirchmann will now look to compete in the individual time trials on July 28.
Diving
The Canadian combo of Jennifer Abel (Laval, QC) and Melissa Citrini Beaulieu (Saint-Constant, QC) won the second medal for Canada. They won a silver medal in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard. They scored solidly in all five of their dives. This marks a triumphant comeback for Jennifer Abel after she finished in fourth place in the 2016 Olympics. Abel will be competing in the women’s 3m springboard on July 30.
Fencing
The men’s épée and women’s foil events took place today. In the men’s épée, Marc-Antoine Blais Belanger (Montreal, QC) was defeated in the round of 64 by second-ranked Chao Dong of China. In the women’s foil, Canada had three athletes competing in the event. Eleanor Harvey (Hamilton), Kelleigh Ryan (Ottawa, ON) and Jessica Guo (Toronto, ON). All three women beat their opening round opponent and moved on to the round of 16. Ryan pulled the upset over the seventh-ranked athlete from the Russian Olympic Committee and moved on to the quarterfinals. Harvey and Guo could not pull their own upsets and defeat their opponents. Ryan faced another ROC athlete in the quarters but could not pull another upset.
Gymnastics
The Canadian women’s team was in action for their qualification round at the Olympics. In the team event, Canada finished in tenth and were named the second reserve team. Brooklyn Moors (Cambridge, ON) and Ellie Black (Halifax, NS) have qualified for the all-around final on July 29. For the individual apparatus, Black is the second reserve for the vault. She qualified for the balance beam on August 3. Moors was named the third reserve in the floor exercise.
Rowing
There were seven events that the Canadians took part in on day three. In the men’s lightweight double sculls, Patrick Keane (Victoria, BC) and Maxwell Lattimer (Ladner, BC) finished second in the first repechage, which qualified them in the semi-final A/B on July 28.
In the men’s and women’s double sculls quarter-finals, Canadian’s Carling Zeeman (Cambridge, ON) and Trevor Jones (Lakefield, ON) both finished second in their quarter-final heats. Therefore, both have qualified for the semi-final A/B in their events. The semi-finals will take place on July 29.
The women’s double sculls semi-finals included a Canadian pair. Gabrielle Smith (Unionville, ON) and Jessica Sevick (Strathmore, AB) finished in second and will compete in the A final on July 28. The men’s and women’s Canadian four both lost out on the A final and will now compete in the B final. Neither of the teams will be competing for a medal.
Sailing
Two Canadian women were competing in the sailing events. In the women’s one person dinghy – laser radial, Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON) finished 18th in the first race and 4th in the second race. She will compete in her third and fourth race on July 26. In the women’s windsurfer – RS:X, Nikola Girke (West Vancouver, BC) finished 25th, 23rd and 22nd in her first three races. She will compete in her next set of three races on July 26.
Shooting
Lynda Kiejko (Calgary, AB) was the only female competitor in the women’s 10m air pistol. She finished in 47th in a large 53 person pool. Only the top 8 finishers qualified into the quarter-finals, therefore her tournament came to an end.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding made its debut in the Olympics tonight with the men’s street event. In the preliminaries, Micky Papa (Burnaby, BC) and Matt Berger (Kamloops, BC) were the two Canadians competing in the event. Berger scored very low in both the run and trick portion and finished in last place. Papa was 2.27 points away from competing in the final.
Softball
The Canadian women lost a heartbreaker to the Japanese in the final group play game. The game was tight all the way through until the sixth batter for the Japanese hit a single to center field that just past the Canadian shortstop and scored the only run of the game. The Canadians are solidly in third place and will play their final round robin game against Italy before competing for the bronze medal on July 27.
Swimming
It was a jam packed day in the pool with the first day of medals being awarded. The first event for the Canadians was the women’s 100m butterfly semi-finals, Maggie Mac Neil (London, ON) placed third in her semis and qualified sixth in the final. The 14-year old Summer McIntosh (Toronto, ON) made her Olympic debut in the 400m freestyle preliminaries. She finished in third in her heat, which included American Katie Ledecky. McIntosh qualified for the final on July 26.
Two women were competing in the 100m backstroke, Kylie Masse (Lasalle, ON) and Taylor Ruck (Kelowna, BC) were in the same heat and finished first and third. Masse set the Olympic record with a 58.17 time. Both women will swim in the second semi-finals on July 26. In the men’s 100m backstroke, Markus Thormeyer (Delta, BC) and Cole Pratt (Calgary, AB) finished sixth and seventh in their heat. They were not among the top 16 times and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
The women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay final had the Canadian’s medal hopes after winning the bronze in 2016. Penny Oleksiak (Scarborough, ON) was back in her second Olympics hoping to upgrade her bronze. The team consisted of Kayla Sanchez (Toronto, ON), Maggie Mac Neil, Rebecca Smith (Red Deer, AB) and Oleksiak. It was a tight race to the wall between the Canadians and the Americans but Oleksiak managed to just out touch the Americans for the silver medal. The men’s 4 x 100m relay were also swimming today. The Canadian men finished fourth in their heat and qualified for the final on July 26.
Table Tennis
The only Canadian remaining in the sport is in competition tonight. Mo Zhang (Richmond, BC) defeated Yana Noskova from ROC in her second round matchup. She will face German Petrissa Solja in the third round on July 26.
Taekwondo
Skylar Park (Winnipeg, MB) competed in the women’s 57kg round of 16. She won her match against Australia’s Stacey Hymer. She moved onto the quarter-finals against Chinese Taipei’s Chia-Ling Lo. She lost in a final score of 18-7.
Tennis
The Canadian medal hopeful Felix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) was upset in his opening round match up against the injury replacement Max Purcell. Auger-Aliassime was scheduled to face the two-time Olympic champion in his first match but he pulled out due to an injury. This marks a disappointing end to Felix’s Olympic tournament after a great quarter-final final finish at Wimbledon two weeks ago. The only remaining Canadian in the tennis event is Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, QC) in the women’s singles tournament.
Day 6 – Monday, July 26th
Badminton
The Canadian pair of Joshua Hurlburt-Yu (Scarborough, ON) and Josephine Wu (Edmonton, AB) have lost their final game at the Olympics in another straight sets defeat.
Basketball
The women’s team made their debut at the Olympics against Serbia. They trailed most of the game except for a small comeback where they tied the Serbians in the third but continued to trail afterwards. Nirra Fields (Montreal, QC) led the Canadians in scoring with 19 points. Kia Nurse (Hamilton, ON) led both teams in time played at 38:03. The Canadians look to bounce back against the Republic of Korea on July 29.
Beach Volleyball
The number one-rated women’s beach volleyball team were back in action for their second game of the tournament. Sarah Pavin (Kitchener, ON) and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto, ON) trailed the Germans in the first set but after a few errors by the Germans, the Canadians were able to come back to win the first set 21-17. In the second set, Pavan and Melissa took over early and never looked back. They will look to continue their hot streak against the Suisse on July 29.
Boxing
Caroline Veyre (Montreal, QC) won her first bout of the Olympics in the featherweight division against Nikolina Cacic of Croatia. She won via a unanimous decision. She will continue to the quarterfinals against Italy’s Irma Testa.
Cycling (Mountain Bike)
In the men’s cross country cycling event, Peter Disera (Horseshoe Valley, ON) finished in 26th in the 28.25km race. He finished 6:31 behind the leader.
Diving
The two male Canadians divers, Vincent Riendeau (Pointe-Claire, QC) and Nathan Zsombor-Murray (Pointe-Claire, QC), finished fifth in the synchronised 10m platform event. At one point, the Canadians flirted with the podium position but their last two dives failed to keep them there. Zsombor-Murray will be back in the men’s 10m platform event.
Fencing
Several Canadian fencers were in competition today. Alex Cai (Toronto, ON) in the men’s foil could not advance into the round of 32 with a 14-10 defeat by Peter Joppich of Germany. Maximilien van Haaster (Montreal, QC) and Eli Schenkel (Los Angeles, CA) were both defeated in the round of 32 in the men’s foil. Gabriella Page (Blainville, QC) was also defeated in the round of 32 to Mariel Zagunis of the United States by a score of 15-5 in the women’s sabre event.
Field Hockey
Team Canada lost a close game against Great Britain. They kept the game tied until the third quarter when the Brits scored two goals. In the fourth quarter, the Canadians tried to claw back by scoring a goal to cut the deficit in half but the Brits scored another goal late for a final score of 3-1.
Judo
Two judoists from Canada had the opportunity to fight for a medal. Arthur Margelidon (Montreal, QC) competed in the men’s 73kg weight class and made it all the way to the bronze medal bount. His competitor Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir of Mongolia won by ippon and claimed the bronze medal. Jessica Klimkait (Whitby, ON) qualified for the bronze medal match as well and faced Kaja Kajzer from Slovenia. Klimkait won the bronze by waza-ari. Jessica Klimkait won the fourth medal for Canada.
Rugby Sevens
Canada lost both of their matches on the first day of Rugby Sevens. Their first match was a rout against Great Britain. They lost 24-0. They, then, took on Fiji in their second match of the day. The Canadians trailed early on but scored a try and a conversion to reduce the lead. Fiji tied up the Canadians with two tries but later scored one at the end to extend their lead. Canada is now tied with winless Japan and may still qualify for the finals with a win over Japan in their next game.
Sailing
Nikola Girke (West Vancouver, BC) and Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON) were back in the water for their next races. Girke raced her 4th – 6th race in the women’s windsurfer RS:X event. She finished 24th, 21st and 20th in her races. She is back again in her next three races on July 28. Douglas in the one person dinghy: laser radial event completed her 3rd and 4th race. She finished 4th and 26th. She will be racing her next two races on July 27.
Skateboard
Annie Guglia (Montreal, QC) was a last minute entrant into the Olympic games at the women’s street event. She finished in 19th overall with a combined score of 3.35 and missed out on the final competition.
Softball
The Canadians dominated the Italians with a 8-1 score in their final game of the softball opening round. They will now compete against Mexico, their opening day opponent, for the bronze medal on July 27.
Swimming
The Canadian women and the Canadian men’s freestyle relay team were in the pool today. We began the night Canada’s first gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games when Maggie Mac Neil (London, ON) won the women’s 100m butterfly. She broke the Canadian record with her swim and recorded the third fastest swim in the history of the event.
Up next was Summer McIntosh (Toronto, ON) in the 400m freestyle final. She narrowly won her first medal at her first Olympics by one tenth of a second. She did beat the Canadian record in the event with her performance. Kylie Masse (Lasalle, ON) and Taylor Ruck (Kelowna, BC) competed in the 100m backstroke. They were both in the same semifinals where Masse won and Ruck finished in 5th. Masse comfortably qualified in the final but Ruck just missed out on the finals.
The men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay team shocked a lot of people by finishing in fourth in the final. Many did not think they would qualify for the final and they were beaten to the bronze medal by the reigning 100m freestyle Olympic champion.
The final four events in the water were qualifying swims for the 200m freestyle, 200m I.M. and the 1500m freestyle. Penny Oleksiak (Scarborough, ON) will swim in the quarterfinals of the 200m free after finishing second in her heat behind Katie Ledecky. Sydney Pickrem (Halifax, NS) finished second in her heat in the 200m I.M. She pulled out of the 400m I.M to put her sole focus on this event. She has qualified for the semifinals. The other Canadian in this event Bailey Andison (Smith Falls, ON) finished 6th in her heat and failed to qualify for the semis. Katrina Bellio blew away her competition in her heat beating the rest of the field by more than 30 seconds. But, unfortunately, it was not enough to qualify for the final.
Table Tennis
Mo Zhang (Richmond, BC) the only Canadian athlete in competition today won a close upset victory over 11th ranked Petrissa Solja of Germany. She will now face the number one-ranked women’s singles table tennis player, Meng Chen of China, in the round of 16 on July 27.
Tennis
Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, QC) was the only remaining Canadian in the tennis event. She, unfortunately, fell in straight sets to the eighth-ranked Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic. All of the Canadian hopefuls have been eliminated from the Olympics.
Triathlon
Tyler Mislawchuk (Oak Bluff, MB) was visibly upset during his post-race interview about his performance. He had won the test event for the Olympics in 2019 and had high hopes of winning a medal. He matched his position from the previous Olympics finishing in 15th. His teammate, Matthew Sharpe (Campbell River, BC), finished in 49th and the last place of the finishers.
Volleyball
The Canadian men’s team lost their second match of the Olympics. They won their first set again like their previous match but could not win another set. This loss places them fifth place in their group. They need to be in the top four of their group to qualify for the quarterfinals. They will play against Islamic Republic of Iran in their next match on July 28.
Waterpolo
The Canadian women lost their second match in a row. They faced Spain and were down the whole game. It was a tight first two quarters but the Spanish began to pull away in the third and fourth quarters. They will look to play their third game against South Africa on July 28.
Weight Lifting
Rachel Leblanc-Bazinet (St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC) competed in Group B of the 55kg women’s weightlifting competition. She finished third and 5 pounds total under the winner from Poland.
Day 7 – Tuesday, July 27th
Archery
Both of the Canadian archers were in competition in the round of 32. Stephanie Barrett (Newmarket, ON) took on Turkey’s Yasemin Anagoz. She was defeated by a score of 6-2. She had scored an early two points in the first set but fell in the next 3 sets. Crispin Duenas (Toronto, ON) faced Dan Olaru from the Republic of Moldova in his first match of the day. He defeated him with a clean three set sweep 6-0. Due to his win in the round of 32, he moved to the round of 16 and faced Ruman Shana Md from Bangladesh. He won again in a much tighter match. It was tied going into the last set, Duenas took the last set with a one score victory. He will face off against German Florian Unruh in the round of 8 on July 31.
Badminton
Two of Canada’s doubles teams and a men’s singles player were in action. The women’s doubles team was up first. They won their first games of the Olympics. They beat Egypt in a straight sets victory. Brian Yang (Richmond Hill, ON) lost his opening match of the tournament to Felix Burestedt of Sweden. He will be back in action on July 28. In their final game of the tournament, the men’s doubles team of Jason Ho-Shue (Markham, ON) and Nyl Yakura (Pickering, ON) lost in straight sets to the team from Malaysia.
Beach Volleyball
The Canadian women’s team of Heather Bansley (Waterdown, ON) and Brandie Wilkerson (Toronto, ON) got their first victory of the games. They beat the team from Argentina in straight sets. They will be back on the court on July 29.
Boxing
Myrian da Silva (Chambly, QC) was fighting in the welterweight division in the round of 16. She lost her bout to the Dominican Maria Altagracia Moronta Hernandez via a unanimous decision.
Canoe/Kayak Slalom
In the women’s kayak slalom semifinals, Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) finished in 23rd in a field of 24. She did not qualify for the finals.
Cycling (Mountain Bike)
Two Canadians were in the field for the women’s cross-country race. Both Canadians missed out on the podium but performed well. Catherine Pendrel (Harvey, NP) finished in 18th and Haley Smith (Uxbridge, ON) finished in 29th.
Diving
It was the women’s synchronised 10m platform turn to be in the pool. The Canadian pair of Meaghan Benefeito (Laval, QC) and Caeli McKay (Calgary, AB) were looking to get a podium position in the event. They ultimately finished in fourth just outside the podium by 5 tenths of a point. McKay fought through torn ligaments in her ankle during the competition.
Field Hockey
Canada played their third game of the Olympics against the Netherlands. They lost their third straight game but were much closer to their opponents in this match. The Canadians kept it at 2-1 for the majority of the game but in the last quarter, the Dutch scored a pair. The final score was 4-2.
Judo
Two Canadian athletes were on the mat today. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (Montreal, QC) was a medal favorite in the women’s 63kg weight class. She went out strong with three victories via ippon. In the semifinals match against the French flag bearer, she lost the match via waza-ari. She would now compete for a bronze medal and potentially the second medal for the Canadian women in consecutive days. She faced off against Anriquelis Barrios from Venezuela. She beat her in the sudden death and the next score wins via a waza-ari.
In the men’s 81 kg weight class, Antoine Valois-Fortier (Longueuil, QC) won his first round matchup against Alexis Ntanatsidis from Greece via ippon in the golden score round. His next opponent was ROC athlete Alan Khunetsov. They faced off in the round of 16, where Valois-Fortier was defeated via waza-ari.
Rugby Sevens
The Canadian men were back in action against the host’s Japan. They won their first game of the Olympics beating the Japanese 36-12. The next opponent they would face in the quarterfinals is the always strong New Zealand team. They lost to the All-Blacks 21-10. They will face the Americans in the 5-8 position placing on July 28.
Sailing
The Canadians were participating in four events on day three of sailing. The men’s and women’s skiff 49er FX competition began on this day. The women placed in 18th, 7th, and 15th in the first three races. The men placed 19th in their only race. Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON) was back for her next two races. She finished 5th and 24th. Tom Ramshaw (Toronto, ON) in the men’s one person dinghy heavyweight was racing in his first and second race. He finished 13th and 7th, respectively.
Soccer
The Canadian women finished their round robin with another draw. They tied Great Britain, 1-1. The women will now face Brazil in the quarterfinals on July 30. The Canadians beat the Brazilians in the last Olympics in the bronze medal game in their home country. Brazil will look to get their redemption and oust the Canadians in the quarters.
Softball
The Canadian women won the medal that eluded them in the last Olympics that softball was in. After a heartbreaking game to the Japanese in the group round, the Canadians looked forward to winning the bronze medal. They were up against their opening day opponent in Mexico. Canada leapt out in front with a 2 score second inning. The Mexicans clawed back to tie the game but Kelsey Harshman (Delta, BC) hit a sacrifice fly that scored Janet Leung (Mississauga, ON) to take the lead. The final score was 3-2.
Swimming
The Canadian women continued their dominance in the pool at these Olympics. Medal favorite Kylie Masse (Lasalle, ON) was racing in the 100m backstroke finals. He was leading for most of the race until the last 15m when world-record holder Kaylee McKeown of Australia took the gold medal. Masse finished with the silver medal.
In the women’s events, Penny Oleksiak (Scarborough, ON) and Summer McIntosh (Toronto, ON) swam in the women’s 200m freestyle semifinals. Oleksiak booked her ticket into the finals but McIntosh just finished on the outside posting the ninth fastest time. Sydney Pickrem (Halifax, NS) also swam in the semifinals of the women’s 200m I.M. She booked her ticket in the final with the seventh fastest time. All of these women will be in action on July 29.
Two Canadian men were participating in the men’s 100m freestyle prelims. Joshua Liendo (Toronto, ON) and Yuri Kisil (Calgary, AB) both punched their ticket into the semifinals. They will be back in the pool on July 29.
Table Tennis
Mo Zhang (Richmond, BC) was in the round of 16 of the women’s singles event. She had her work cut out for her facing off against the number one ranked athlete from China in Meng Chen. She tried to claw back in the end with a fourth set victory but it was not enough for a comeback. She lost 4-1.
Triathlon
The women’s triathlon was a soggy one after typhoon warnings in the area. The bike event was a difficult one when many of the athletes fell off their bikes due to the slippy ground conditions due to the rain. The Canadian women did not podium in the event. Amelie Kretz (Ste-Therese, QC) finished in 15th and Joanna Brown (Carp, ON) was classified out of the race since she was lapped.
Weightlifting
The Canadian women won their second gold medal in the Olympic games and their first gold medal. Maude Charron (Rimouski, QC) won the women’s 64kg weight class. She completed her final 131 pound clean and jerk to score 236 points, four ahead of the silver medalist. During her post-event interview, the reporter asked her what she planned on doing afterwards and she said that she wanted to eat popcorn and cake. She was definitely deserving of as much popcorn and cake that she could consume.
Day 8 – Wednesday, July 28th
Badminton
Both of Canada’s men’s and women’s singles players were in action. Michelle Li (Markham, ON) took her second win at the Olympics. She beat the Slovak Martina Repiska in straight sets. Li will advance to the round of sixteen against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara on July 29. Brian Yang (Richmond Hill, ON) played his second and final match of the tournament. He lost his second match to Chinese Taipei’s Tien-Chen Chou.
Boxing
Caroline Veyre (Montreal, QC) was in the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight class. She was facing Italian Irma Testa. She lost via unanimous decision. Tammara Thibeault (Regina, SK) began her Olympics in women’s middleweight preliminaries against Nadezhda Ryabets of Kazakhstan. She beat her opponent by split decision (4-1).
Canoe/Kayak Slalom
Canadian’s Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) and Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) began their Olympics on day 8. Daniels competed in the women’s canoe slalom. The first two heats determine the top eighteen athletes to move onto the semifinals. She finished 19th in the first heat and 21st in the second heat. She did not move onto the semis. The men’s kayak was also in competition today and Tayler was among the twenty hopefuls to move to the semifinals. He finished 20th in the first heat and 24th in the second. He, too, did not qualify to the semis.
Cycling (Road)
In the final event of the road cycling in the Olympics, Canada had representatives in both the men’s and women’s individual time trials. The Canadian women had two representatives and both did well. Leah Kirchmann (Winnipeg, MB) finished in 12th and Karol-Ann Canuel (Amos, QC) finished in 14th. Both women were roughly 3 minutes behind the gold medal winner. Hugo Houle (Sainte-Perpétue, QC) was the lone male representative. He finished a positive twelfth and was also roughly 3 minutes behind the leader.
Rowing
The Canadian rowers were back in the water for the medal rounds. Up first were the women’s and men’s four in the B final. The women’s four finished fourth in the final, while the men finished second. The only group of the day that had a chance to medal were the women’s double sculls pair of Gabrielle Smith (Unionville, ON) and Jessica Sevick (Strathmore, AB). They finished in sixth after a slow start to the race. Four groups were in the semifinals and looking to qualify for the medal round. The men’s lightweight double sculls team finished in fifth and missed the A final. The women’s lightweight double sculls also finished outside the top three and missed qualifying for the A final. Both teams will look to compete in the B final. The two women’s and men’s pairs finished in the top three of the semifinals and qualified to the A final. They will be competing for a medal on July 29. The Canadian women’s eight qualified for the A final by finishing second in their semifinals.
Rugby Sevens
The Canadian men’s rugby sevens team played their last two games of the Olympics. They, unfortunately, lost both of their games finishing in eighth. They played their first game against the Americans and lost a close one 21-14. Then, they took on Australia later in the day for the 7-8 placing. They lost by a wide margin of 26-7. The Canadian women will take their turn on July 29.
Sailing
There were many Canadian sailors in the water today. The first group out in the water was the men’s two person dinghy and they finished 12th and 17th in their two races. Up next was the women’s and men’s skiff 49er. The Canadian men finished 19th twice and 16th. The Canadian women finished 16th, 14th and 15th. Tom Ramshaw (Toronto, ON) and Nikola Girke (West Vancouver, BC) were back in the water. Girke finished 23rd twice and 22nd. She will have one more day of sailing. Ramshaw finished 7th, 11th, and 14th. He will be back on July 29.
Swimming
Penny Oleksiak (Scarborough, ON) became tied for the most decorated Canadian Olympian with her bronze medal in the 200m freestyle. The other swimmer in contention for a medal was Sydney Pickrem (Halifax, NS) in the 200m individual medley. She finished in sixth within 2 seconds of the gold medal winner.
The other events in the pool were qualifying swims. In the men’s 100m freestyle semifinals, Joshua Liendo (Toronto, ON) and Yuri Kisil (Calgary, AB) finished seventh and eighth and missed out on the finals. Markus Thormeyer (Delta, BC) participated in the men’s 200m backstroke preliminaries and finished 6th and qualified for the semis. The last of the Canadian men to swim on day four was Finlay Knox (Okotoks, AB). He was in the 200m I.M prelims and also finished 6th but finished outside the cut-off line of the top sixteen.
The Canadian women were all over the start sheet on day four. In the women’s 100m freestyle prelim, Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez (Toronto, ON) were trying to get their names on the list of the semifinals. Both finished in the top four, Oleksiak qualified but Sanchez just missed out. Pickrem was back in the pool for the second session of the day and did not start in the 200m breaststroke but her teammate Kelsey Lauren Wog finished sixth in her heat in the same event. Wog qualified for the semifinals. The last event for the women was the 4 x 200m freestyle relay; all but one were new swimmers in this relay from the previous one. Katerine Savard (Pont-Rouge, QC), Rebecca Smith (Red Deer, AB), Mary-Sophie Harvey (Trois-Rivières, QC) and Pickrem took second in their heat. They will be lane 6 in the finals.
Tennis
The last hope for Canada tennis was on the court today in the mixed doubles. After a disappointing men’s singles round one exit, Felix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) and Gabriela Dabrowski were looking to bounce back and make a run to the finals. Unfortunately, today was not the day for the Canadians. They lost to the second ranked Greek team in straight sets.
Volleyball
The men’s team looked to bounce back after two disappointing loses. They took on the Islamic Republic of Iran in their third game. The Canadians took a straight sets victory. Canada looks to take this momentum into the fourth game against Venezuela on July 30.
Waterpolo
The Canadian women played their third game of the Olympics. After suffering two very tight losses, they opened the floodgates against South Africa. They beat the South Africans 21-1. They will play their final game against the Netherlands on August 1.
Day 9 – Thursday, July 29th
Badminton
Canada’s only participant in the elimination round was Michelle Li (Markham, ON) in the women’s singles. Her opponent in the round of 16 was third ranked Japanese athlete, Nozomi Okuhara. Li had a big test ahead of her going up against her first ranked opponent. She was defeated handedly in straight sets.
Basketball
The Canadian women bounced back with a victory over the Republic of Korea. Canada was reeling after the disappointing first game against Serbia. They needed a victory over Korea to help their chances moving onto the quarters. Canada led in all four quarters and were led by Bridget Carleton (Chatham, ON) with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Beach Volleyball
Both of Canadians teams were in action on day six. The number one ranked pair of Sarah Pavan (Kitchener, ON) and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto, ON) remains perfect at the Olympics. They beat the Suisse team of Verge-Depre and Heidrich in straight sets. Pavan and Melissa have booked their ticket into the round of sixteen. The second group Heather Bansley (Waterdown, ON) and Brandie Wilkerson (Toronto, ON) lost their third match of the Olympics in straight sets. They now have a record of 1-2.
Fencing
The Canadian women foil team had a quarterfinal matchup against France. They lost 45-29. They were back again against Hungary in the 5-8 classification. Canada beat Hungary to move onto the 5-6 classification against Japan. They beat the host country to finish in fifth at the Olympics.
Field Hockey
Canada lost their fourth straight game in a 9-1 rout to Belgium. They looked to be getting better in the tournament, keeping the scores closer in the last two games after suffering a big loss to the Germans. They will look for a better result in their final game against South Africa.
Golf
Canadians Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, ON) and Corey Conners (Listowel, ON) look to both fight for a medal in this thinner men’s field. In the first round, they both scored a -2 par in the first round with a 69. They are tied for 20th.
Gymnastics
The only Canadian in the women’s individual all-around final event was Brooklyn Moors (Cambridge, ON). Ellie Black (Halifax, NS) had to pull out of the final due to a reaggravation of her ankle injury during training. Moor finished in 16th.
Judo
Canadian Shady El-Nahas (Montreal, QC) was in competition in the men’s 100kg event. He began the day with a victory over United Arab Emirates athlete Ivan Remarenco. Elnahas beat him via ippon. His round of 16 opponent was Zelym Kotsoiev from Azerbaijan. He also beat him via ippon. Now, in the quarterfinals, he took on the eventual silver medalist Varlam Liparteliani from Georgia. He lost this match via ippon.
Rowing
The Canadian rowing team has won their first medal of the Olympics. The women’s pair of Caileigh Filmer (Victoria, BC) and Hillary Janssens (Cloverdale, BC) won the bronze medal. The men’s pair of Kai Langerfeld (North Vancouver, BC) and Conlin McCabe (Brockville, ON) were 5 tenths of a second away from a bronze medal.
In the women’s and men’s lightweight double sculls, both Canadian teams were in the B final The women finished in sixth place and the men finished in fourth. The women’s and men’s single sculls also had Canadians in the semifinals. Both athletes Carling Zeeman (Cambridge, ON) and Trevor Jones (Lakefield, ON) qualified outside of the top three and missed the A final. They will both be in the B final on July 30.
Rugby
The Canadian women had two games on the first day of the Olympics. Their first game was against Brazil. They were heavy favorites in the match up and it showed with their 33-0 thrashing of the Brazilians. The Canadians look to take their moment from the first game into their matchup against the medal favorites Fiji. Unfortunately, the momentum was not enough to take them ahead of Fiji. They lost their second game 26-12. Not only did they lose the game but they also lost a key component to their team. Keyara Wardley (Vulcan, AB) suffered a hip injury that will take her out of the Olympics.
Sailing
The men’s skiff was back in action today. They completed their fifth and sixth race. They finished in 16th and 12th. The men’s two person dinghy completed their third and fourth race and finished 16th twice. Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON), Nikola Girke (West Vancouver, BC) and Tom Ramshaw (Toronto, ON) were in the water. Douglas completed her seventh and eight races. She finished 13th and 5th. Girke completed her final two races of the round robin. She finished 21st and 20th. In his fifth and sixth race, Ramshaw finished 10th and 13th.
Shooting
Lynda Kiejko (Calgary, AB) participated in the women’s 25m pistol precision qualification. She finished in 41st. She will be back in action for the rapid qualification round.
Swimming
Many Canadian swimmers were in action on day six. The only final event was the women’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay. The Canadian women just missed out on a podium finishing in 4th. The other events were all qualifications. The women’s 100m freestyle semi finals had Penny Oleksiak (Scarborough, ON) finish in the top eight and qualify for the finals. Markus Thormeyer (Delta, BC) was in the men’s 200m backstroke semis but failed to qualify for the finals. Kelsey Wog (Winnipeg, MB) also failed to qualify for the women’s 200m breaststroke final. In the preliminaries, Summer McIntosh (Toronto, ON) finished first in her heat but just missed out on the finals. Joshua Liendo (Toronto, ON) qualified for the semi finals of the men’s 100m butterfly. Kylie Masse (Lasalle, ON) and Taylor Ruck (Kelowna, BC) were back in the 200m backstroke. They both finished second and third in their heat and moved onto the semis. Lastly, the mixed 4 x 100m medley relay finished 5th in their heat, just missing out on the finals.
Day 13 – Monday, August 2nd
Athletics
In the women’s 1500m, Canada had three representatives. In the first heat, Gabriela DuBues-Stafford (Toronto, ON) finished in first and etched her spot in the semis. Natalia Hawthorn (Bracebridge, ON) and Lucia Stafford (Toronto) could not be in the top six of their heats and therefore will not move on. In the women’s 200m, Crystal Emmanuel (Toronto, ON) finished first in her heat and qualified for the semifinals. In the semis, she placed in sixth and missed out on the top two qualifying spots. Two of Canada’s pole vaulters were in action for qualification. Alysha Newman (Delaware, ON) could not post a height at 4.25 and Anicka Newell (Saskatoon, SK) posted the second highest vault at 4.55. Newell booked her spot to the final on August 5. Sage Watson (Medicine Hat, AB) failed to qualify for the final after finishing in fifth in the semifinals. In the men’s steeplechase final, Canada had two representatives in Matthew Hughes (Oshawa, ON) and John Gay (Kelowna, BC) both missed out on the podium but finished 6th and 15th. In the final medal event of the day for Canada, Andrea Seccafien (Guelph, ON) finished in fifteenth.
Beach Volleyball
The top-ranked pair of Sarah Pavan (Kitchener, ON) and Melissa Humana-Parades (Toronto, ON) were the second Canadian group to advance into the quarterfinals. Pavan and Melissa took on the pair from Spain. They beat them in straight sets with the exact same score of 21-13. Their next round matchup will be against Australia’s Artacho Del Solar/Clancy on August 3.
Canoe/Kayak Sprint
Several of Canada’s athletes were in the water for the canoe and kayak sprints. First up in the women’s kayak single, Andréanne Langlois (Trois-Rivières, QC) finished fifth in her heat and qualified for the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, she finished in first and booked her spot to the semifinals. Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) was also in the women’s kayak single, she placed fifth also in her heat. She, too, booked her spot in the semifinals finishing in second in her quarterfinal.
In the men’s double canoe, Connor Fitzpatrick (Dartmouth, NS) and Roland Varga (Aurora, ON) finished fifth in their heat. They continued their momentum from the heats into the quarterfinals to finish in third and qualify for the semifinals. In the semis, they finished in the top three giving them the opportunity at a medal. They will race for their medal opportunity on August 3.
The women’s double kayak event also took place today. Alanna Bray-Lougheed (Oakville, ON) and Madeline Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) finished fifth in their heat winning a spot into the quarterfinals. In the quarters, they finished in the bottom two which forced them to be eliminated in the event.
Cycling (Track)
In the women’s team pursuit qualifying round, Canada finished last. In the heat, they will face the fifth fastest team in qualifying, which means they will face off against France. In the men’s team pursuit, the Canadian men qualified in sixth place. They will take on the 7th fastest, Germany, in their heat. Both heats will take place on August 3.
Diving
In the men’s 3m springboard qualifying, the only Canadian to participate in the event was Cedric Fofana (Montreal, QC), he finished in last. He will not move onto the semifinals.
Soccer
In the rematch of the 2012 London Games, the Canadian women took on the Americans in the semifinals. Canada looked for redemption. It has been almost 20 years since the Canadians have beat the Americans. They look to change all that today. It was a tight game all the way through. In the 30th minute, the American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher suffered an apparent knee injury after catching the ball of a Canada corner kick. Her replacement Adrianna Franch had not seen any action throughout the Olympics. In the 73rd minute, Canada was awarded a penalty when Tierna Davidson tripped up Canada’s Deanne Rose (Alliston, ON) in the box. Christine Sinclair (Burnaby, BC) handed the ball off to Jesse Fleming (London, ON). Fleming stepped up to take the shot and scored a beauty shot near the right post just past the outstretched hands of Franch. This was all it took for Canada to move onto the gold medal game. The game will take place on August 6.
Synchronised Swimming
On the first day of synchronised swimming at the Olympics, Canada’s duet of Claudia Holzner (Calgary, AB) and Jacqueline Simoneau (Saint-Laurent, QC) finished in fifth after their free routine qualifying. They will follow this up with the technical routine on August 3.
Wrestling
Danielle Lappage (Olds, AB) competed in the opening round of the women’s freestyle 68kg. She took on the Russian Olympic Committee athlete Khanum Velieva. She lost her match by a score of 7-0.
Unbenched Sports 