Sports
27 Canadian athletes to watch at Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Toronto Star
The 371 Canadian athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics over the next couple of weeks represent the country’s largest Games contingent in more than three decades.
There will be Olympic veterans and household names, breakout stars on the verge of the limelight, professional athletes and, inevitably, surprise medal-worthy performances by a Canadian you’ve never heard of before.
The Associated Press projects Canada will win 19 medals overall: three gold, seven silver and nine bronze. The team collected 22 medals at Rio 2016, matching the country’s best-ever total at a non-boycotted Games from Atlanta in 1996. The team’s four gold medals that year was Canada’s highest number since notching seven at Barcelona 1992.
Catching every athlete in every event is a big ask, so here are some of the Canadian names to keep an eye on over the next two weeks in Japan.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Montreal
Tennis, men’s singles and mixed doubles
This will be a first outing for Auger-Aliassime, who turns 21 next month, since he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, a career-best result at a Grand Slam. He will team up with Gaby Dabrowski in the mixed doubles.
Meaghan Benfeito
Montreal
Diving, Women’s 10 metre synchronized platform and 10 metre platform
Benfeito, 32, a four-time Olympian and three-time medallist, won gold with partner Caeli McKay in the women’s 10-metre synchro at the FINA Diving World Cup in May.
Melissa Bishop-Nriagu
Eganville, Ont.
Athletics, Women’s 800 metres
Bishop-Nriagu, 32, who holds the Canadian record in the women’s 800 metres, posted her fastest time in nearly four years by running 1:58.36 at Sunset Tour in Sacramento, Calif. She finished fourth in the 800 at Rio 2016, matching Canada’s best-ever Olympic result in the event.
Ellie Black
Halifax
Women’s gymnastics, Artistic
A lot rides on 25-year-old Black. No Canadian woman has ever won an Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. Many believe Black can be the first. She previously placed fifth at Rio 2016 for the best Olympic all-around result by a Canadian.
Mandy Bujold
Kitchener, Ont.
Boxing, women’s flyweight 51 kilograms
Bujold, 33, fought to get into the Olympics, after she was initially ruled ineligible after missing time because of pregnancy. Her next fight is to best her fifth-place finish at Rio 2016.
Maude Charron
Rimouski, Que.
Weightlifting, 63 kilograms
Charron, 28, is one of Canada’s best shots at a gold medal. Most recently, she won gold at the Pan American Championships in April, breaking the continental records for the 64 kg weight class in snatch, clean and jerk and total.
Andre De Grasse
Markham
Athletics, Men’s 100 metres, 200 metres, 4×100-metre relay
He struggled with injury in 2017 and 2018 but De Grasse, 26, a three-time medallist, is keen to make history again by winning Olympic medals in all three sprint events — this time all gold.
Evan Dunfee
Richmond, B.C.
Athletics, Men’s 50 kilometre race walk
This is a last shot for Dunfee, 30, in this event at the Olympics, no matter where his career goes next. The 50-km race will be dropped from Paris 2024. Dunfee is looking for a podium after finishing fourth at Rio 2016.
Malindi Elmore
Kelowna, B.C.
Athletics, Women’s marathon
Elmore, 41, is back at the Olympics 17 years after making her debut in Athens, Greece in 2004, when she ran the 1,500-metre race. In January, 2020, she shattered the Canadian marathon record, running her second-ever try at the distance in 2:24:50.
Brooke Henderson
Smith Falls, Ont.
Women’s golf
Henderson, 23, and a 10-time winner of the LPGA Tour who is currently the seventh-ranked golfer in the world, finished in a tie for seventh in the women’s event in Rio 2016. The former world No. 1 holds the record for most professional golf wins by a Canadian.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan
Toronto and Kitchener, Ont.
Women’s beach volleyball
Canada hasn’t won a beach volleyball medal since the sport made its Olympic debut in 1996. Humana-Parades and Pavan rank second worldwide. The duo dropped just two sets over five elimination matches en route to a world championship win and Olympic berth in 2019.
Jessica Klimkait
Whitby
Judo, women’s 57 kilograms
The 24-year-old booked her spot at her first Olympic Games in style, by winning gold at the world judo championships in June. No Canadian has won Olympic gold in judo.
Ghislaine Landry
Toronto
Women’s Rugby 7s
Rugby 7s team captain Landry, now 33, was instrumental in Canada earning bronze in the sport’s Olympic debut at Rio 2106. She is one of the most prolific try-scorers in women’s rugby and led Canada with 41 points in Brazil.
Rosie MacLennan
Toronto
Women’s gymnastics, Trampoline
MacLennan, 32, is the only Canadian to win a gold medal in two consecutive Games in the same event. In Tokyo, she will go for an unprecedented third gold. MacLennan battled serious injuries in recent years, including a broken ankle in 2019, to go for gold.
Kylie Masse
LaSalle, Ont.
Swimming, women’s 100 and 200-metre backstroke
Masse broke her own Canadian record with a time of 57.70 to win the 100-metre backstroke at the Olympic trials in Toronto in June. She is the reigning world champion in the event. The 25-year-old took home bronze at the 200 m event at Rio 2016.
Sean McColl
North Vancouver, B.C.
Sport climbing, men’s combined
McColl is a four-time world champion in the combined event, which is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo. He had won 34 World Cup medals across multiple disciplines as of February 2020, and 12 open national titles dating back to 2007.
Summer McIntosh
Toronto
Swimming, women’s 200 and 800 metre freestyle
Expect Canada’s youngest athlete, at 14 years old, to draw some attention to the pool. McIntosh stole the show at Canada’s recent Olympic trials, winning the 200-metre freestyle final and breaking her own national age group record in the 800-metre freestyle.
Tyler Mislawchuk
Oak Bluff, Man.
Men’s Triathlon
The 26-year-old won the World Triathlon Cup in June, the final men’s race of the Olympic qualifying period. The performance follows a breakout season in 2019 when he claimed victory at the same event and became the first Canadian to win an Olympic test event in the 20-year history of triathlon as part of the Olympic program.
Penny Oleksiak
Toronto
Swimming, women’s 100 and 200-metre freestyle
The darling of the 2016 Rio Olympics at 16 years old, Oleksiak became the first Canadian athlete to win four medals in a summer games. And in her debut, no less. Oleksiak, now 21, became a household name, and has since admitted the spotlight, and pressure, has affected her. How will she fare in her second games remains to be seen.
Skylar Park
Winnipeg
Taekwondo, women’s 57 kilograms
Park, 22, has already won two gold medals in international competition this year, at the Spanish Open and at the senior Pan Am Championships. In 2019, Park won a bronze medal at the world taekwondo championships, a silver medal at Pan Am Games and three bronze medals on the Grand Prize Tour.
Jacqueline Simoneau
Saint-Laurent, Que.
Artistic Swimming, duet, team
The 25-year-old walked away from the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series Super Final in June with six medals. Gold in solo technical and solo free, as well as duet technical and duet free with partner Claudia Holzner. Bronze in team technical and team free.
Christine Sinclair
Burnaby, B.C.
Women’s soccer
The all-time goal-scoring record holder in international soccer will compete in her fourth Olympics. Sinclair may be 38 years old but she remains among the team’s most important players. If Canada wants to better the bronzes it earned at London 2012 and Rio 2016, Sinclair needs to be on form.
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe
Trois-Rivieres, Que.
Canoe, women’s C1 200 metre and C2 500 metre
The 29-year-old, who was provisionally suspended for a failed drug test in 2019 and forced to miss the world championship despite later being cleared, holds the world record in the C1 200 at 44.504 seconds. She and teammate Katie Vincent hold the world record for the C2 500 — at one minute, 51.428 seconds.
Damian Warner
London, Ont.
Athletics, men’s decathlon
Warner, 31, is the world’s top-ranked men’s decathlete. He previously won a bronze medal at Rio 2016. As recently as May, he shattered his Canadian record in the decathlon with 8,995 points, breaking his old mark of 8,795.
Erica Wiebe
Stittsville, Ont.
Wrestling, women’s 68 kilograms
After a golden Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, Wiebe is looking to follow in the footsteps of Canadian teammate MacLennan and win the same colour medal in the same event five years on.
Michael Woods
Ottawa
Cycling, men’s road race
Woods’s most recent success came at the Tour de France this month, when he survived a crash to claim the polka-dot jersey as leader of the King of the Mountains classification, becoming only the second Canadian to wear the jersey. He left the Tour with three days left to recover in time for the Olympics.
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Sports
Dolphins will bring in another quarterback, while Tagovailoa deals with concussion
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa sustains third concussion of his career after hitting head on turf
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
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AP NFL:
Sports
Alouettes receiver Philpot announces he’ll be out for the rest of season
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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