It’s the first day of competition at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and Canada’s wasting no time clinching spots on the podium.
Racing in the velodrome and in the pool, two Canadian athletes secured the country’s first medals of the Games on Wednesday.
It was track cyclist Keely Shaw who earned the first one, a bronze in the women’s C4 3,000-metre individual pursuit. The 27-year-old athlete — originally from Midale, Sask., now in Saskatoon — was making her Paralympic debut and won her race in three minutes 48.342 seconds.
WATCH | CBC Sports’ Jacqueline Doorey recaps Day 1 of the Tokyo Paralympics:
While You Were Sleeping: Canada wins 2 medals, wheelchair rugby and basketball underway
8 hours ago
Aurelie Rivard and Keely Shaw each took bronze on the first day of competition, plus wheelchair basketball and rugby get underway with Canada facing Great Britain in the first round-robin matches of the tournament. 3:02
Then, decorated swimmer Aurélie Rivard won a bronze of her own in the S10 50-metre freestyle final. The Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., native entered the race as the defending champion, having earned gold — plus three other medals — in Rio 2016.
Her race time of 28.11 seconds added a sixth Paralympic medal to her growing list of accomplishments.
WATCH | Track cyclist Keely Shaw races to Canada’s first medal of Tokyo Paralympics:
Canadian Track cyclist Keely Shaw races to bronze for Canada’s 1st medal at Tokyo Paralympics
17 hours ago
Midale, Saskatchewan’s Keely Shaw secures a bronze medal in the women’s C4 3,000-metre individual pursuit at the Izu Veldrome in Shizuoka, Japan. 4:18
WATCH | Swimming star Aurélie Rivard claims bronze at Tokyo Aquatics Centre:
Canadian Para swim star Aurélie Rivard swims to bronze at Tokyo Paralympics
13 hours ago
Reigning Paralympic and world champion Aurélie Rivard captures a bronze medal in the women’s 50-metre freestyle S10 event at the Tokyo Paralympics. 1:57
Here’s a quick a look at what you might have missed on Wednesday in Tokyo:
Canadian teams off the mark
Multiple Canadian teams competed in their opening matches on Wednesday, resulting in a pair of losses and one victory.
The women’s goalball team fell 5-1 to the Russian Paralympic Committee, while the men’s wheelchair rugby team also dropped its opener to Great Britain.
Emma Reinke of St. Thomas, Ont., ensured Canada didn’t stay scoreless in goalball — a sport contested by visually impaired athletes — and recorded a point for the team in her Paralympic debut.
And Zak Madell of Okotoks, Alta., scored an impressive 31 tries in wheelchair rugby — but the persistent Brits stayed ahead, beating Canada 50-47.
It was the women’s wheelchair basketball team that pulled out a win on the court, battling at the Ariake Arena in a close game also against Great Britain.
The Canadians shot into the lead during the second half and stayed ahead to trump their opponent 73-54. Kady Dandeneau of Pender Island, B.C., was responsible for nearly half of Canada’s points, scoring 32 of them herself.
Debut gold for one athlete, 15th gold for another
The first gold medal of the Paralympic Games came on the track at the Izu Velodrome. Paige Greco of Australia cycled to first place and overlapped her fellow competitor in her Paralympic debut.
The athlete beamed and shook her fist at the end of the race, having clocked a world-record time in the event at three minutes 50.815 seconds.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Sarah Storey earned her 15th Paralympic gold medal in the C5 3,000-metre individual pursuit. She set a new world record and Paralympic record with her stellar performance — a time of 3:27.057.
The win is also her fourth consecutive in the event. Her first-ever Paralympic gold medal came at her first Games in 1992, where Storey won a total of five medals at the age of 14.
Canada’s Keely Shaw reacts after winning her track cycling women’s C4 3,000m individual pursuit bronze medal race at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday. (Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
Canada’s oldest and youngest athletes compete
Both Canada’s oldest and youngest athletes competed in Tokyo on Wednesday. Wheelchair fencer Sylvie Morel — who hit the scene in 2000 as Canada’s first Paralympian in the sport — returned to competition at the age of 64, making her debut in women’s sabre.
And Nicholas Bennett, 17, made a splash in the pool for his debut, placing sixth in his qualifying heat of the men’s S14 100-metre butterfly. While he didn’t advance from his heat, the teenager broke his own Canadian record in a time of 58.38 seconds.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
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