Paris 2024 Olympics Day 7: Canada add three bronze medals as week one comes to a close
Canada entered double digits on the medal tally, adding a trio of third place finishes.
Canada’s medal tally hit double digits at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday, picking up three bronzes as the first week of competition came to an end. Canada has picked up a medal on every day of the Games so far, and now sit at eleven in total.
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gaby Dabrowski won Canada’s first Olympic medal in tennis mixed doubles on Friday, taking bronze with a victory over Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands. The Canadians won the first set 6-3, and went up 3-0 in the second, but the Dutch pair didn’t go down without a fight, tying it up and eventually taking a 5-4 lead. After trading games, a tiebreak was needed to decide the second set, which Canada won to seal third place and a spot on the podium.
The medal was Canada’s second in Olympic tennis, and the first since Daniel Nestor and Sébastien Lareau won men’s doubles gold at Sydney 2000. Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski also competed together in this event at Tokyo 2020, where they were knocked out in the round of 16.
Earlier on Friday, Auger-Aliassime was defeated by Spanish superstar Carlos Alcarez in the semifinals of the men’s singles event, and will play for bronze on Saturday.
For the second Olympics in a row, Kylie Masse reached the podium in the women’s 200m backstroke, finishing third in a time of 2:05.57 to become the first Canadian swimmer to win an individual medal at three Olympic Games.
The Tokyo 2020 silver medallist in this event came flying out of the gates, and was in first place after one length of the pool, but slowed down and was outside the podium position after 150 metres. She turned on the jets in the final stretch, climbing back into third and clinching her fifth career Olympic medal. Australian Kaylee McKeown finished in an Olympic record 2:03.73, while American Regan Smith touched the wall in 2:04.26 for silver.
Also in the pool, Josh Liendo was 0.02 seconds back of his first Olympic medal, finishing fourth in the men’s 50m freestyle final. Finlay Knox raced in the men’s 200m individual medley final, finishing eighth in a time of 1:57.26.
Several Canadians qualified for Saturday’s finals. Liendo and Ilya Kharun will race in the final of the men’s 100m butterfly final, a few days after Kharun took bronze in the 200m butterfly event. Summer McIntosh will look for a fourth medal at Paris 2024 when she races in the 200m individual medley alongside fellow Canadian Sydney Pickrem. McIntosh took gold in the 400m IM earlier in the Games.
Canada will also have a team in the mixed 4x100 medley relay final, after having the sixth-fastest time in Friday’s heats. In the heats, Canada’s team consisted of Blake Tierney, Apollo Hess, Maggie Mac Neil and Taylor Ruck.
The day before her 26th birthday, Sophiane Méthot earned a bronze medal in women’s trampoline, continuing Canada’s rich history in that event.
Méthot qualified in the eighth and final spot from the qualification round earlier on Friday, before turning her routine up a notch in the final. She had the best score among all finalists in terms of staying centered on the trampoline, and cleanly executed all of her skills for a score of 55.650.
She was in second place with two athlete remaining. Great Britain’s Bryony Page, a two-time Olympic medallist previously and the reigning world champion, finally added an Olympic gold medal to her resume with a score of 56.480 to take the lead and bump the Canadian down to third. The final competitor, China’s Hu Yicheng, fell on her routine and missed the podium — the first podium without a Chinese trampolinist since 2000. Finishing second was Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya, a Belarusian gymnast competing as a neutral independent athlete.
Méthot’s medal was Canada’s eighth in trampoline events all-time. Rosie MacLennan is the athlete many Canadians associate with the sport, after winning gold at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
Mohammed Ahmed was the lone Canadian competing in an athletics medal event on Friday, putting up an incredible effort in the men’s 10,000m race. Ahmed stayed with the main pack and led for portions of the race, but faded in the final push to the finish line and ended up finishing fourth in a time of 26:43.79, just 0.67 seconds off the bronze medal — matching the best-ever Canadian finish.
Audrey Leduc continued her incredible season so far, setting a new Canadian record in the women’s 100m sprint, winning her first round heat in 10.95 seconds — one of just eight women to run under 11 seconds. Jacqueline Madogo also raced in the first round, running in 11.27 seconds, missing out on the next round by one hundredth of a second.
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and Kieran Lumb were unable to qualify for the second round from their men’s 1500m heats, but will compete in the repechage rounds, getting a second opportunity to move on in the competition. Jazz Shukla will also move on to a repechage round, in the women’s 800m, after finishing fifth in her heat. Briana Scott competed in the first round of the women’s 5000m event, finishing 19th in her heat and being eliminated from the competition.
In hammer throw, Ethan Katzberg and Rowan Hamilton finished first and second in the men’s qualifying round to advance to Sunday’s final. Adam Keenan finished 13th, one spot back of the 12-man final.
Defending Olympic champion Damian Warner is in fourth place of the men’s decathlon after five of ten events, sitting on 4561 points — 89 points back of Germany’s Leo Neugebauer for top spot.
Molly Simpson finished fifth in the women’s BMX racing final, Canada’s best-ever finish in the event. In a tight race, she completed the course in 35.833 seconds, just 1.602 seconds back from Saya Sakakibara, the gold medallist from Australia.
Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson finished second in the B Final of the women’s lightweight double sculls rowing event, placing eighth overall. They will be Canada’s final duo to compete in the event at this level, as it will be removed from the Olympic program after Paris 2024.
Canada’s men’s basketball team completed an unbeaten group stage in its return to the Olympics on Friday, beating Spain 88-85. They won Group A after also beating Greece and Australia, and advance to the quarterfinals — which they have not advanced past in 40 years.
The Canadian women’s 3x3 basketball team was less successful on Friday, losing both of their matches to fall to a 3-3 record after six pool matches. They lost to the United States in overtime of their first match, and then followed that up with an overtime loss to Spain in a second tightly-contested match.
Daniel Dearing and Sam Schachter needed to win their final preliminary round match to stay alive in the men’s beach volleyball tournament, and did just that on Friday, beating Austria’s Julian Hoerl and Alexander Horst in straight sets. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the round of 16, as do the two best third-ranked teams. The remaining four third-ranked teams will play in a lucky loser round to determine who takes the final two spots.
In the Olympic debut of kayak cross, Friday featured the time trial round to determine seeding for the first round of competition, which takes place on Saturday. Alex Baldoni had the 24th fastest time in the men’s event, and Lois Betteridge was 37th in the women’s event.
Corey Conners shot two under par in the second round of the men’s golf tournament, and now shares 13th place, six shots back of the lead, with two rounds to go. Nick Taylor shot two over par on Friday, and currently sits in a tie for 46th place halfway through the competition.
The Canadian women’s water polo team’s group stage record fell to 1-2 on Friday with a 10-7 defeat to Australia in their penultimate game. They sit fourth in Group A with one match to play on Sunday against the Netherlands.
Sarah Douglas finished 13th in both races in the women’s ILCA 6 class sailing event on Friday, and sits in 17th place so far in the opening series.
Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi was defeated in the women’s +78kg judo round of 32 on Friday, losing her opening match to Nicaragua’s Izayana Marenco just over two minutes into the match.
What’s happening on Day 8?
The second weekend of the Olympics will begin with some of Canada’s biggest stars, as athletics kick into high gear and swimming starts to wind down, among several other sports involving Canadian athletes.
Below are all of the Canadian athletes competing on Saturday at the Olympic Games. Click here for CBC’s guide on when and where to watch every event.
Summer McIntosh, looking for her fourth medal in the pool at these Olympics, will compete in the women’s 200m individual medley final, alongside fellow Canadian Sydney Pickrem. Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun will race in the men’s 100m butterfly final, while Canada will also field a team in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final.
After winning mixed doubles bronze on Friday, Félix Auger-Aliassime will compete in the bronze medal match of the men’s singles tennis competition on Saturday, taking on Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. If he wins, it will be Canada’s first-ever medal in a singles tennis event at the Olympics.
Damian Warner looks to defend his Olympic decathlon title, competing in the final five events on Saturday — 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin, and 1500m. Warner currently sits in fourth place after day one. Audrey Leduc will race in the semifinals of the women’s 100m in athletics after breaking her own Canadian record in round one. The top two athletes in each heat, plus the next two fastest overall, will advance to the final, which goes on Saturday night.
Canada is the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s eight rowing competition, and will have a chance to defend their crown on Saturday. Canada advanced to the final through the repechage round on Thursday, after finishing third in their first round heat earlier in the week. When Canada won gold in Tokyo, they also had to go through the repechage round.
In artistic gymnastics, Ellie Black and Shallon Olsen will compete in the women’s vault apparatus final. Black is coming off a sixth-place finish in the individual all-around event, and both have competed in the Olympic vault final before. Black finished eighth at London 2012, while Olsen finished eighth at Rio 2016 and seventh at Tokyo 2020.
In cycling, Derek Gee and Mike Woods will represent Canada in the men’s road race. Gee finished 20th in the men’s time trial earlier in the Olympics and finished ninth at the 2024 Tour de France. The race falls on his 27th birthday. Woods is competing in the event for the third Olympics in a row, finishing fifth at Tokyo 2020 and 55th at Rio 2016.
Canada’s mixed judo team have a bye to the round of 16 on Saturday, where they will take on Uzbekistan. The medal matches of the judo tournament will be later in the day, if Canada is able to advance through the rounds.
Canadian athletes competing in non-medal events on day 8:
Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, and Duan Asemota compete in the first round of the men’s 100m athletics event on Saturday morning. Jazz Shukla will compete in the women’s 800m repechage, while Kieran Lumb and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot will race in the men’s 1500m repechage heats.
Taylor Ruck will race in the women’s 50m freestyle heats on Saturday morning, looking to advance to the evening’s semifinals, and potentially Sunday’s final. Canada will also enter teams in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relay heats, with the final set for Sunday night.
Canada take on Azerbaijan in women’s 3x3 basketball as pool play comes to an end. Canada sits fifth in pool play, and can book their spot in the next round with a win, or potentially a bye to the semifinals based on other results.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson wrap up Pool D action in women’s beach volleyball, taking on Latvian pair Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova, looking to confirm their spot in the round of 16. Canada sit second in Pool D, with the top two teams from each pool and the two best third place teams earning automatic round of 16 spots. The remaining four third-placed teams will compete in a “lucky loser” playoffs, battling it out to decide the final two teams that advance. The pair will be hoping to avoid the extra matches by winning Saturday’s game to secure a top two spot, of course.
Nick Taylor and Corey Conners will play in round three of four in the men’s golf tournament.
The Canadian women’s soccer team plays Germany in the quarterfinals of their tournament, in a battle of the two most recent Olympic champions. For a full preview of that match, click here.
Sarah Douglas competes in races four, five, and six of the women’s ILCA 6 sailing preliminary round.
The first round of women’s and men’s kayak cross will take place, featuring Lois Betteridge and Alex Baldoni in the women’s and men’s events, respectively. The first two finishers in each heat will advance to the knockout rounds, while everyone else will go through the repechage races later on Saturday.
Two winless teams meet in the final round of men’s volleyball Pool A, as Canada take on Serbia. The Canadians will need to win, and have some other results go their way, to advance to the quarterfinals.
Thank you for reading this post on True North. To be the first person to read future posts, and listen to new podcast episodes, subscribe for free using the button below, or share the article with someone you know.