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.
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.
