The majority of action during the Tokyo Olympics happens as most Canadians are fast asleep. While you were cozy in your bed, however, members of Team Canada were making their push for the podium.
Here’s what you missed from Day 5 of the Summer Games:
Women’s 200m Freestyle Swimming: Penny Oleksiak makes Canadian Summer Games history
It was a night to remember for Canadians that tuned in to see Oleksiak compete in the women’s 200-metre freestyle final on Day 5 of the Games, as the swimmer claimed bronze in the event. The medal marks her second of the 2020 Games, and her sixth-ever at the Olympics, making her the most decorated Canadian summer Olympian ever.
The swimmer from Toronto, Ontario, completed the women’s 200m freestyle with a time of 1:54.70. Placing second was Hong Kong’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey, who earned a time of 1:53.92. Claiming gold was Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, whose time of 1:53.50 set a new Olympic record.
Pulling from both the Summer and Winter Games, Oleksiak is tied with Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen for the most Olympic medals by a Canadian. With multiple events still remaining for Oleksiak, she could very well leave Tokyo as the all-time leader.
Canada’s swimming phenom Penny Oleksiak had herself an Olympic history-making moment Wednesday in Tokyo. (Getty)
Men’s Volleyball: Canada earns first win of tournament
The Canadian men earned a straight-sets victory over Iran to pick up their first win at the Olympics. The team now sits in fourth place in Group A and will play against Venezuela on Day 7 of the Games.
Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls Rowing: Canadians Patrick Keane and Maxwell Lattimer qualify for Final B
Competing in Semifinal 1, Keane and Lattimer finished fifth amongst six competitors and will now compete in Final B.
Women’s Singles Badminton: Michelle Li wins, claims top spot in Group F
Michelle Li picked up a straight-sets victory over Slovakia’s Martina Repiska and first place in Group F. She will now face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the Round of 16. She has yet to lose a set in the tournament.
Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls Rowing: Jill Moffatt and Jennifer Casson qualify for Final B
Moffatt and Casson placed sixth amongst the six competitors in Semifinal 2, which means they’ll compete in Final B.
Men’s Pair Rowing: Kai Langerfeld and Conlin McCabe advance to Final A
Racing in Semifinal 2, Langerfeld and McCabe impressively earned third amongst the six competitors. The two will now have a chance at gold in Final A.
Thibeault defeated Kazhakstan’s Nadezhda Ryabets in the Last 16, advancing to the quarterfinal. She will now face Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands for a chance at qualifying for the semis.
Women’s Pair Rowing: Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens earn lane in Final A
Filmer and Janssens finished nearly eight-tenths of a second behind Greece’s Maria Kyridou and Christina Bourmpou, and less than one-tenth of a second behind Great Britain’s Helen Glover and Polly Swann to finish third in Semifinal 1. The result was good enough to advance through to Final A where they will have a chance at a gold medal.
Women’s Eight Rowing: Canada will compete for gold
Canada nabbed second in the Repechage Round, finishing a little more than seven-tenths of a second behind Romania’s time of 5:52.99. The result earned the team a chance to compete for gold.
Women’s Water Polo: Canada wins in rout of South Africa
After dropping its first two contests to Australia and Spain, Canada defeated South Africa by a score of 21-1 to earn its first win of the Olympics. Canada now sits in third place in Group A.
Women’s 100m Freestyle Swimming: Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez advance
Racing in the preliminary heats for women’s 100m freestyle, Oleksiak and Sanchez both qualified for the semifinal. Oleksiak finished sixth with a time of 52.95 while Sanchez finished 10th with a time of 53.12.
Men’s 200m Backstroke Swimming: Markus Thormeyer claims lane in semifinal
Swimming to a time of 1:57.85, Thormeyer finished 16th in the preliminary heats, earning him the final spot for the semis.
Women’s 200m Breaststroke Swimming: Kelsey Wog will swim in semifinal
Wog finished 16th in the preliminary heats for the women’s 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:24.27. She will compete in the semis.
Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Swimming: Canada earns spot in semifinal
The team of Katerine Savard, Rebecca Smith, Mary-Sophie Harvey, and Sydney Pickrem swam to a time of 7:51.52, which earned them the fourth spot in the preliminary heats and a lane in the semis.
Way Beyond Gold: German judoka Martyna Trajdos defends coach slapping her face
This is the weirdest pre-game ritual I’ve ever seen.
“Look’s like this was not hard enough,” Trajdos’ Instagram post reads. “I wish I could have made a different headline today. As I already said that’s the ritual which I chose pre competition! My coach is just doing what I want him to do to fire me up!”
Despite her wish to be slapped in the face, the International Judo Federation sent an “Official Warning and Ultimatum” to Pusa.
How many medals has Canada won in the Summer Olympics
Canada is now up to nine medals in Tokyo heading into Day 6.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
