Olympic quota spots were secured at the World Figure Skating Championships where Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were absolutely sterling. Eliot Grondin achieved a major career milestone by becoming a world champion, while Reece Howden finished the season as the top male ski cross racer on the World Cup circuit. Plus, Cassie Sharpe put a bronze bow on her comeback season in ski halfpipe.

Read on for the details behind those headlines.

Figure Skating: Gilles & Poirier win silver at worlds

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier collected a second consecutive silver medal at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. In their 12th world championship appearance together, they scored 130.10 in the free dance for an overall total of 216.54 to finish second behind now three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States.

READ: Gilles & Poirier skate to second straight ice dance silver at World Figure Skating Championships

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha finished seventh overall with a total score of 200.41. Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer made a promising world championship debut, qualifying for the free dance to finish among the top 10 teams in the world. All together, those results mean Canada has qualified three ice dance teams for Milano Cortina 2026.

READ: Team Canada qualifies seven Olympic spots at World Figure Skating Championships

In pairs, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps fought hard in the free skate and finished in the top five with a total score of 199.76. Having entered the worlds as the defending champions, they bounced back from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the short program

“Wednesday was very disappointing, especially since our mistakes occurred in elements where we are excellent,” said Stellato-Dudek. “We wanted to come back strong and rebound. We had nothing to lose and had to fight until the very end. […] We were so far behind after the short program, all we could do was give it our all and that’s what we did.”

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud finished 11th overall, which means Canada has earned two pairs spots for the next Olympic Games. Canada’s third pair, Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier, finished 16th overall.

READ: Figure skaters set out to secure Olympic quota spots for Canada at world championships 

Madeline Schizas delivered a career-best finish at the world championships, finishing 11th in the women’s event. After an impressive sixth-place standing following the short program, Schizas poured everything into her free skate, however, a few small errors prevented her from staying in the top 10. Her total score of 190.79 marked a new season’s best.

“I’m a little disappointed, but these things happen,” said Schizas. “There was a lot of pressure today and I’m still satisfied with the way I skated. It wasn’t perfect, but I feel like I was well prepared. I perhaps had a little less speed and that got reflected in my program.”

Roman Sadovsky put together two of his best programs in some time, earning a season’s best total score of 240.38 to finish 14th overall.

Snowboard Cross: Grondin adds world title to his resumé

Éliot Grondin won his first senior world championship title in men’s snowboard cross at the 2025 FIS Snowboard World Championships in Engadin, Switzerland on Friday. It is his second medal at the worlds following a bronze in 2021.

“I had a pretty good start and I was battling with the guys in the pack, and I just decided to stay patient and build speed,” Grondin said. “They had a bit of contact, so I think that helped me.”

READ: Éliot Grondin captures world championship title in snowboard cross

The 23-year-old sits comfortably atop this season’s World Cup standings with a 141-point lead over his closest competitor, Loan Bozzolo of France. The Crystal Globe will be awarded at the final World Cup event of the season, fittingly taking place on home snow for Grondin, at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, April 4-6.

Ski Halfpipe: Sharpe wins world championship bronze

Cassie Sharpe earned her first world championship medal since 2019, taking bronze in women’s ski halfpipe at the 2025 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Engadin, Switzerland.

READ : Cassie Sharpe wins halfpipe bronze at the Freestyle Skiing World Championships

The two-time Olympic medallist needed a big second run to get onto the podium. She scored 88.00 to jump over compatriot and fellow Olympic medallist Rachael Karker, whose first run score of 86.25 left her in fourth place overall. It caps a remarkable comeback season for Sharpe, who took two years away from competition, during which she became a mom.

Dillan Glennie and Amy Fraser both advanced to the final but did not start. The top Canadian in the men’s ski halfpipe final was Brendan Mackay who finished seventh.

Ski Cross: Howden gets hands on third Crystal Globe

Reece Howden won both of the final men’s ski cross events of the season in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, earning him the Crystal Globe. Those were his sixth and seventh World Cup victories of the season, bringing him to 18 for his career. It is the third time in five years that Howden has topped the World Cup standings.

READ : Reece Howden wins Crystal Globe in ski cross

Courtney Hoffos also ended the season on a high, earning two hard-fought second place finishes in the immediate aftermath of her silver medal at the world championships. She had five podium performances on the World Cup circuit this season, all of which came since the start of February.

Despite being unable to race in Idre Fjäll after suffering a small fracture to her sternum at the world championships, India Sherret finished the season third overall in the World Cup standings.

Aerials: Pair of near podium performances at world championships

Alexandre Duchaine just missed out on the podium at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, finishing fourth in men’s aerials. His score of 105.21 in the second final round was just 1.91 points back of the bronze medal. It is a career-best world championship performance for the 20-year-old.

Marion Thénault finished fifth in women’s aerials with a score of 90.15 points in the second final round. She had posted the top score in the first final round, earning 104.31 for her triple twisting triple flip, but was unable to land it as cleanly in the second final round.

Ski Big Air: Two Canadian women in top 5 at worlds

Olivia Asselin and Megan Oldham both finished in the top five of women’s big air at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships. Asselin had a total score of 167.00 for her best two of three runs in the final, putting her in fourth place. She missed the bronze medal by just 0.75. Oldham, who had won slopestyle bronze a week earlier at the worlds, finished fifth overall with a score of 162.00.

Snowboard Halfpipe: Hosking in top seven at worlds

Elizabeth Hosking finished seventh in women’s halfpipe at the FIS Snowboard World Championships. The silver medallist from the 2023 Worlds was in fifth place after scoring 79.50 in the first run. But she was unable to improve her position when she fell during her second run and eventually dropped two spots in the standings. Brooke D’Hondt also made it to the final where she finished ninth overall based on a first run score of 74.75.

Rugby: Canada takes bronze at Hong Kong SVNS

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team won bronze at the Hong Kong SVNS after defeating France in the third-place playoff game on Sunday. The season-best result for Canada moved the team into fourth place in the overall SVNS Series standings, confirming their spot among the eight women’s teams that will compete in the SVNS World Championship in May in Los Angeles.

Canada started the final day of competition with a semifinal matchup against the eventual champions, New Zealand, who got a 41-0 win. The Canadians rebounded quickly, delivering a thrilling 21-17 victory over France. Sabrina Poulin’s try in the 11th minute, which was converted by Taylor Perry, put Canada ahead for good.

The team now heads to Singapore for their next SVNS Series stop taking place April 5-6.

I was a gymnast for 13 years before pivoting to a new sport. I tried everything from track to soccer and nothing really stuck until a friend from my high school wrestling team convinced me to try out for rugby. That first practice, I fell in love with the sport. And years later, it took me to the Olympic Games.

You too can help athletes get to the Olympic Games in the sport that they love, by donating today.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games was an amazing experience and a beautiful way to celebrate my ten years representing Canada. Our Rugby Sevens team won a historic silver medal in Paris, our best-ever Olympic performance. Winning our semifinal against Australia was an incredible feeling. There was still work to be done, but at the end of the match, we knew we had clinched an Olympic medal – a first for many of my teammates.

As the final seconds ticked down, I felt so much pride for this team. Proud of how hard we worked for the last three years. Proud of what we accomplished together. I still struggle to put into words how powerful that moment was. Even thinking about it now gives me goosebumps.

These are the moments we work for and cherish. And donors play a huge role in the process. Honestly, our survival as high performance athletes depends on your support. Every dollar we receive affords us the time to dedicate ourselves to our sport.

We train full days – Monday to Friday, from 8AM until 4PM. Then comes recovery, nutrition, and reviewing film. Even after all that, multiple times throughout my career, I have had to head to work a night shift to fund my Olympic dreams. So when we receive funding, it means we have more time to focus on our careers as athletes, preparing to be in peak form. That way we can compete in tournament after tournament, year after year, working towards the pinnacle – the Olympic Games – and proudly representing Canada.

Donor support reminds us that there is a bigger team behind us. Every donation counts.

Even as part of a team, you can sometimes feel like it is you against the world. So when donations come in, we feel supported and know that Canadians are thinking about us and recognize the hard work we put in every single day. It is one of the things that connects us as Canadians and as humans, and I think that is really special.

Please consider a donation to Team Canada today and help us continue to compete at our best, and generate the moments and memories to inspire Canadians and motivate future generations of Olympians.

Sincerely,

Charity Williams
Rugby
Two-time Olympic medallist 

Canadian athletes won 27 medals, surpassing the 24 medals won at Tokyo 2020, to make Paris 2024 Team Canada’s second most successful Olympic Summer Games of all time. Nine of those medals were gold, seven were silver, and 11 were bronze. Medals were won by 50 athletes in 15 different sports.

Relive some of the greatest achievements of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games—as remembered by many of those medal-winning athletes—with the Team Canada Rewind series.

Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse

Headed into Paris 2024, Team Canada’s men’s 4x100m relay team almost had the full collection of medals—they just needed that gold…

Philip Kim (Phil Wizard)

Phil Wizard says his path to breaking gold was paved with Parisian pastries…

Camryn Rogers

Apparently an Olympic gold medal weighs about the same as a hammer…

Ethan Katzberg

When the plan is to get a solid first hammer throw in—but then you go full Thor and secure gold…

Summer McIntosh

That first 400m freestyle silver medal left her hungry for gold… so she snagged three of them in the 400m IM, 200m IM, and 200m butterfly…

Christa Deguchi

From missing out on qualifying for Tokyo 2020, to topping the podium at Paris 2024 in the women’s 57kg judo event…

Team Canada Rugby Sevens

When you have to take down the home team in their own stadium to advance… and then you go on to claim silver…

Team Canada Rowing Eight

Coxswain Kristen Kit‘s message to the crew of the women’s eight en route to their silver medal? “Heads in the boat!”

Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray

“It’s a weight off of my shoulders…and onto my neck” was one way Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray looked back on their bronze in men’s 10m synchro diving…

Marco Arop

“I knew the race was going to be fast…I wasn’t expecting it to be that fast.” Marco Arop threw down a huge personal best and new Canadian record to take silver in the men’s 800m…

Maude Charron

A change in weight class couldn’t stop Maude from snagging the women’s 59kg weightlifting silver…

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson

“It has not sunk in yet that we’ve made history.” Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson are Team Canada’s first ever Olympic medallists in women’s beach volleyball…

Josh Liendo

When you look at your teammate before a race and say: “It’d be pretty cool if we both ended up on the podium.” And then you do—with silver and bronze…

Alysha Newman

Alysha Newman knows that to perform her best, she’s got to be having fun. She had a blast at the Olympic Games—and blasted herself to new heights to take the women’s pole vault bronze medal…

Skylar Park

“Once I knew I had that shot, there was no stopping me.” Skylar Park fought her way onto the women’s 57kg taekwondo podium…

Kylie Masse

Kylie Masse has competed at three Olympic Games and medalled at every one of them. At Paris 2024 she claimed bronze in the women’s 200m backstroke…

Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gaby Dabrowski

The Canadian duo battled back from the brink of exhaustion to the Olympic podium, winning bronze in mixed doubles at the legendary Roland-Garros…

Sophiane Méthot

An Olympic debut, but make it a podium. That’s how Sophiane Méthot flew to bronze in women’s trampoline at Paris 2024…

Katie Vincent and Sloan Mackenzie

The Olympic Games are just like any other regatta… except not. But Katie Vincent and Sloan Mackenzie paddled their way onto the podium in the women’s C-2 500m…

Eleanor Harvey

“When I was a kid, I would look at Olympians and almost view them as superheroes.” Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey is now one of those superheroes, with a bronze medal to match…

Wyatt Sanford

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Wyatt Sanford spent 15 years working towards his 63.5kg boxing bronze medal.

74% of Team Canada athletes who medalled have received support from the Canadian Olympic Foundation thanks to the generosity of donors across the country.

Despite our best efforts, many Team Canada athletes don’t have all the funding they need, to cover everything from training, coaching, mental health supports, competition costs, or equipment. 

Team Canada’s achievements at Paris 2024 are a testament to the impact of donor support. Donor investment in an athlete’s Olympic journey provides the key resources needed to propel them over the finish line – and inspire our nation.

Congratulations to the entire Canadian Olympic team, including the #Paris2024 medallists who have received support from the COF thanks to donors:

• Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, and Brendon Rodney, men’s 4x100m relay (GOLD), Tokyo 2020 Malaviya Award (2021)

• Camryn Rogers, women’s hammer throw (GOLD), Great to Gold program (2024)

• Ethan Katzberg, men’s hammer throw (GOLD), Great to Gold program (2024)

• Katie Vincent and Sloan MacKenzie, women’s C-2 500m canoe sprint (BRONZE), women’s C-1 200m canoe sprint (GOLD) (Katie), Murphy Family Award (2023)(Katie), Great to Gold program (2024), NextGen athlete (2022) (Sloan)

• Josh Liendo, men’s 100m butterfly (SILVER), NextGen athlete (2018-2022), 2024 Great to Gold program (2024)

• Maude Charron, women’s 59kg weightlifting (SILVER), Tokyo 2020 Malaviya Award (2021), Murphy Family Award (2023)

• Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, women’s beach volleyball (SILVER), Murphy Family Award (2021)(Melissa), Great to Gold program (2024)

• The women’s eight rowing team (Abby Dent, Caileigh Filmer, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Kristen Kit, Maya Meschkuleit, Sydney Payne, Jessica Sevick, Kristina Walker, Avalon Wasteneys) (SILVER), Great to Gold program (2024)

• The women’s rugby sevens team (Olivia Apps, Fancy Bermudez, Alysha Corrigan, Caroline Crossley, Chloe Daniels, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Piper Logan, Carissa Norsten, Taylor Perry, Krissy Scurfield, Florence Symonds, Shalaya Valenzuela, Keyara Wardley, Charity Williams) (SILVER) Great to Gold program (2024)

• Eleanor Harvey, women’s fencing individual foil (BRONZE), Murphy Family Award (2023) and Great to Gold program (2024)

• Felix Auger-Alliasime, tennis mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski (BRONZE), NextGen athlete (2017-2019)

• Kylie Masse, women’s 200m backstroke (BRONZE), Tokyo 2020 Malaviya Award (2021)

• Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens, men’s synchronized 10m platform diving (BRONZE), Bursary Program for Quebec Olympic Athletes (2024) (Nathan), NextGen athlete (2017-2022) (Rylan)

• Skylar Park, women’s 57kg taekwondo (BRONZE), Murphy Family Award (2021,2022) , Great to Gold program (2024)

• Sophiane Methot,women’s trampoline (BRONZE), Great to Gold program (2024)

• Wyatt Sanford, men’s 63.5kg boxing (BRONZE), Great to Gold program (2024)

Every Team Canada Paris 2024 medallist will receive a Team Canada Podium Award of $5,000 per medal earned, funded by the Malaviya Foundation. In addition, they will receive a portion of the Tania Esakin Fund.

Reaction shots

Moments captured where athletes achieved a goal, realized a dream, or were overcome with emotions.

Family, friends, fans

Behind every Team Canada athletes is an army of friends, family and fans who’ve helped them get to the Games.

Game faces

Shots of athletes in the zone.

It was all a blur

The Games go by quickly, and sometimes our Team Canada photographers tried capture that vibe.

Action shots

Perhaps the most quintessential type of sport photo is…the action shot.

As with every Olympic Games, there are plenty of strong candidates. And let’s not forget, creativity is allowed here. Sprinter Andre De Grasse and weightlifter Maude Charron carried the flag during the Opening Ceremony – could we see a duo on flag bearer duties to close out the Games?

In full transparency, we at Olympic.ca have no insider information, so let the speculation begin about some of the athletes/teams/duos who have surely made themselves candidates to carry Canada’s flag into Stade de France on Sunday.

Summer McIntosh – Swimming

If you’re reading this, you likely know who Summer McIntosh is by now.

McIntosh cemented her status as one of the world’s best swimmers in Paris, winning three gold medals and a silver.

READ: McIntosh completes gold medal hat trick in the pool at Paris 2024

The 17-year-old became the first Canadian athlete to win three gold medals in one Olympic Games and matched teammate Penny Oleksiak for the most medals won by a Canadian athlete at one summer Games.

As if that wasn’t enough, McIntosh set Olympic records in both the women’s 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley.

Ethan Katzberg – Hammer Throw

It took just one throw for Katzberg to prove that he’s in a world of his own in the men’s hammer throw event.

Katzberg threw the furthest distance of the entire competition on his very first attempt, nearly touching the Olympic record with his toss of 84.12m. The silver medalist, Bence Halasz of Hungary, was only able to reach 79.97m.

READ: A jaw-dropping, golden Olympic debut for Ethan Katzberg

The last athlete to win a medal for Team Canada in the hammer throw was Duncan Gillis, who took silver at Stockholm 1912. Katzberg captured Canada’s first gold medal in any throwing event since St. Louis 1904.

Camryn Rogers – Hammer Throw

Rogers confirmed it: Canada is a hammer-throwing nation.

Rogers became Canada’s first woman to medal in a throwing event when she captured gold in the women’s hammer throw. Her furthest throw, which came on her fifth attempt, measured 76.97m.

READ: Camryn Rogers: Rock-solid and golden at Paris 2024

The 25-year-old’s gold medal was Canada’s third ever in a women’s athletics event at the Olympic Games. There hasn’t been a Canadian gold in a women’s athletics event since all the way back at Amsterdam 1928 when Ethel Catherwood won the high jump and the women’s 4x100m relay won their event.

Christa Deguchi – Judo

Deguchi won Canada’s first gold medal of these Games, winning the the women’s 57kg judo event. Not only did she win her final bout, but she did so again world number three Huh Mimi of South Korea.

READ: A golden Olympic debut for Christa Deguchi

The 28-year-old is Canada’s first ever Olympic champion in judo.

The gold medal further solidified Deguchi as Canada’s most successful female judoka. In 2019 she became the first Canadian to ever win a world title in judo and became world champion again in 2023. Earlier this year, she won silver at the IJF World Championships, losing in the final to Huh.

Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun – Swimming

As mentioned, creativity is allowed, so why not consider two Canadians who stood on the podium together as one package?

Liendo won silver while Kharun took bronze in the men’s 100m butterfly. It was Canada’s first double podium at an Olympic Summer Games since Montreal 1976.

Liendo’s time of 49.99 set a national record. He also became the first Black Canadian to win an Olympic swimming medal.

READ: Paris 2024 an Olympic Games for the history books for Canadian swimming

19-year-old Kharun, meanwhile, leaves Paris with two medals, having also won a bronze in the 200m butterfly.

Heading into Paris 2024, no Canadian man had won an Olympic swimming medal since London 2012.

Eleanor Harvey – Fencing

In a Games full of firsts for Canada, here’s another one: Harvey became Canada’s first ever Olympic medallist in fencing.

The 29-year-old won the bronze medal in the women’s individual foil event by defeating Italy’s Alice Volpi – the fourth-ranked women’s foil fencer in the world – 15-12 in the third-place match.

READ: Eleanor Harvey adjusting to ‘surreal feeling’ of being an Olympic medallist

Harvey had previously achieved Canada’s best ever Olympic result in any individual fencing event when she placed seventh in the women’s individual foil at Rio 2016.

The Squads – Rugby, Rowing and Beach Volleyball

Team Canada won silver in women’s rugby sevens, the nation’s best-ever result in the event. Canada reached the final by pulling off upsets over France and Australia before falling to two-time Olympic champion New Zealand in the gold medal match. Canada’s previous best result was a bronze at Rio 2016.

For a second straight Olympic Games, the Canadian women’s eight rowed to a spot on the podium, winning silver. The crew of Jessica Sevick, Caileigh Filmer, Maya Meschkuleit, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Avalon Wasteneys, Sydney Payne, Kristina Walker, Abby Dent and Kristen Kit completed the 2000m course in 5:58.84 – and, just like in Tokyo, had to go through the repechage to get into the final.

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson have already made history – and their Games aren’t over yet. The duo secured a spot in the women’s beach volleyball semifinals, meaning they will become the first Canadian team to play for a medal in the event.

The three core values of the Olympic movement are excellence, respect and friendship. There’s no podium necessary for an athlete to display one, two or even all three of those traits.

Members of Team Canada have been demonstrating those values throughout Paris 2024. Here are a few examples.

Black and Olsen lift a competitor’s spirits

Ellie Black has had plenty of memorable moments in her career as a gymnast. Her latest one didn’t come on any apparatus; it came from the heart.

Black and Canadian teammate Shallon Olsen were captured consoling French gymnast Melanie de Jesus dos Santos after the host nation star had a tough time in the qualification round, missing out on advancing to the all-around final and the French team missed the team final at their home Games.

“I feel like we all kind of go through the same thing,” Olsen reflected a few days later. “We know how hard gymnastics is and we’ve all experienced disappointment in our own ways. So I think it was easy to relate to her because we’ve all been there at one point. So if I can do something to make somebody smile and uplift her, then that’s what I was going to do.”

“It was an amazing experience going out there and competing with France,” added Black. “That’s the greatest thing about sport is it brings us together. I’ve known Melanie for a long, long time. She’s a really good friend and I just wanted to remind her that it’s not always about the results. It’s who she is […] just reminding her that she she is enough and whether you have a perfect day or not, the sun will shine and it will come back out again.”

Dolci recovers from a scary moment

While athletes try to prepare for every possibility, artistic gymnast Félix Dolci couldn’t have expected what happened in the men’s all-around final.

The first-time Olympian was competing on the horizontal bar when his hand guard unexpectedly snapped, sending him hurtling to the mat in terrifying fashion. He got up, unhurt, as he received massive applause from the audience.

Since his fall was due to an equipment malfunction, he was later allowed to restart his routine. Would we call it bravery? Resilience? Determination? Whatever it’s called, it was certainly a show of excellence.

Ahmed has ‘no regrets’ in 10,000m

Values really shine through in moments of adversity, and that was surely the case for distance runner Mohammed Ahmed. The four-time Olympian ran the race of his life in the men’s 10,000m and looked poised to claim a medal.

But in the dying moments of the gruelling race, he was overtaken and would finish in fourth, just 0.67 seconds off the podium. Still, he immediately threw a celebratory arm around Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who set an Olympic record and won gold.

“Honestly I have no regrets. I think I ran that really, really f—ing well,” he told CBC Sports after the race. “My legs are really, really dead. So, I did everything I could.

“These are the hardest Olympics, in the history of the Olympics. … Yes I’m disappointed, but I gave it everything I had.”

Playing for each other on the pitch

There were high hopes in women’s soccer, as Canada came into the tournament as defending gold medallists. But a drone-flying controversy sent the team’s head coach home in disgrace and led to a six-point deduction.

Many made the case that it was disproportionately punitive to the players, who weren’t involved in the situation. The players, however, relied on each other and pulled off a trio of dramatic wins in the group stage to reach the quarterfinals.

READ: Improbable journey in women’s soccer ends with heartbreak for Canada

“A lot has been taken away from us as players who have had nothing to do with any of the actions,” said defender Vanessa Gilles, who scored two game-winning goals. “The one thing that we can control, the one thing that is in our grasp is the pitch. That’s something they can’t take away from us, as much as they tried.

“So just sticking together and knowing that we can control that, and that if we go into that knowing that and believing in that, then the world’s our oyster.”

‘She worked so hard for this moment’

They didn’t face the same type of adversity as the soccer team, but the silver-medal-winning women’s rugby sevens squad showed off their own unbreakable bonds in Paris.

Krissy Scurfield was knocked out of the tournament after being injured in Canada’s opening match against New Zealand. Her injury meant she couldn’t join the team in the stadium for the gold-medal game, or on the podium afterwards.

But her teammates used her absence as motivation, and were thrilled that she was able to claim her silver medal after the fact when they were celebrated at Canada Olympic House.

Friendship prevails

Two straight fourth-place finishes at the Olympics are a tough pill for any athlete to swallow. But that’s the situation for diver Caeli McKay in the women’s 10m synchro event. She and Kate Miller came up just short of the podium in Paris.

“We ended up fourth today, but that doesn’t take away from all of our hard work and it doesn’t take away from our careers together and our journey and our value,” said McKay.

“She’s one of my best friends, so it’s nice to be able to be here together and have another shoulder to cry on together.”

Role model mom

In some ways, Paige Crozon’s path to 3×3 basketball was intertwined with becoming a mom. Crozon had been playing basketball in Europe, but after her daughter Poppy was born, those teams weren’t sure about having a single parent on the roster. But with 3×3 as a new discipline, perhaps there was an opportunity at home. A phone call between Crozon and Michelle Plouffe, her former university teammate, planted the seed of… “we could go to the Olympics!”

Their team culture is one rooted in friendship, respect, support, and fun–including support Crozon’s identity as a mom. Now Poppy is in Paris cheering on her mom and her teammates as their number one fan, and honourary fifth teammate.

READ: Momentum: 3×3 basketball player Paige Crozon sheds light on elite sport and motherhood

Career-best performance as birthday present

Sophiane Méthot had burst onto the international scene with a bang, winning bronze at her first world championships in 2017. But then came some difficult years, as she dealt with injuries and mental blocks that affected her air awareness — something incredibly important in trampoline.

But with great support behind her, she put it all together on the biggest stage. The day before her 26th birthday, she delivered the performance of her life to win an Olympic bronze medal.

But a podium finish isn’t a prerequisite to making Olympic history. So, as we wrap up the Paris Games, here’s a look at some first-ever and best-ever achievements by Canadian athletes.

Athletics

What a week at Stade de France. Where to begin?

Andre De Grasse won his seventh Olympic medal, anchoring the men’s 4x100m relay to gold. That ties him with Penny Oleksiak as Canada’s most decorated Olympian of all time.

In other relay news, the women’s 4x100m relay team of Audrey Leduc, Jacqueline Madogo, Sade McCreath and Marie-Éloise Leclair set a new Canadian record of 42.50 seconds in Paris.

Marco Arop earned a silver medal in the men’s 800m with a personal best time of 1:41.20, which also set a new Canadian record. It’s also Canada’s first medal in the men’s 800m since Tokyo 1964.

Also on the track at Stade de France, Moh Ahmed finished fourth in the men’s 10,000m, which is Canada’s best result in over a century.

At an even longer distance, Evan Dunfee and Olivia Lundman became the first Canadians to compete in the marathon race walk mixed relay, which joined the Olympic program this year. They also set a new Canadian record time of 3:04:57.

Now onto the field—Alysha Newman became Canada’s first ever Olympic medallist in the women’s pole vault, winning a bronze. In the process, she set a new Canadian record by clearing a height of 4.85m.

Coming into Paris 2024, Canada hadn’t won Olympic gold in any throwing event in 120 years. Ethan Katzberg put that to rest, winning gold in the men’s hammer throw.

A few days later, Camryn Rogers won gold in the women’s hammer throw, Canada’s first gold in a women’s athletics event since Amsterdam 1928.

That’s just the third time that one country has won both the men’s and women’s hammer throw at one Olympic Games. Poland did it at Tokyo 2020 and Sydney 2000.

Canoe/Kayak – Sprint

Katie Vincent claimed a gold medal in the women’s C-1 200m on Day 15, achieving a World Best time of 44.12 seconds in the process. The two-time Olympian became the first Canadian woman to win gold in any canoe or kayak event.

Beach volleyball

Playing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson made their first Olympic appearance as a team—and that wouldn’t be their only first.

Battling through the lucky loser round, they’d go on to reach the semifinal (a Canadian women’s first), then the final (a Canadian first) and win the silver medal (a Canadian first).

The previous high watermark for Canada in women’s Olympic beach volleyball had been reaching the quarterfinals, which both Humana-Paredes (with Sarah Pavan) and Wilkerson (with Heather Bansley) had achieved at Tokyo 2020.

Their silver beats out the bronze won by John Child and Mark Heese in the men’s tournament when beach volleyball made its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996.

Swimming

Just in case you somehow hadn’t heard, Summer McIntosh made a bit of history at these Games.

The 17-year-old phenom is the first Canadian to ever win three gold medals at one Olympic Games, with her triumphs in the women’s 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley and 200m butterfly. She also set a new Olympic record (2:06.56) in the 200m IM.

Ilya Kharun won Canada’s first ever Olympic medal in the men’s 200m butterfly, a bronze, which was Canada’s first medal in a men’s swimming event since London 2012. Then, for good measure, he won another bronze in the 100m butterfly, sharing the podium with silver medal-winning team Josh Liendo. That was Canada’s first double podium at the Olympic Summer Games since Montreal 1976.

Also, Kylie Masse became the first Canadian swimmer to win individual medals at three Olympic Games.

READ: Masse carries on consistency, capturing fifth Olympic medal

Fencing

Eleanor Harvey won Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal in the sport, a bronze in the women’s individual foil. She and teammates Jessica Guo and Yunjia Zhang also came close in the women’s team foil event, with a fourth-place finish that represented Canada’s best-ever result in the event.

On the men’s side, Fares Arfa earned Canada’s best ever Olympic result in any men’s individual fencing event. He upset the three-time defending Olympic champion en route to an eighth-place finish in men’s individual sabre.

Tennis

Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gaby Dabrowski won bronze in mixed doubles, Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal in that event. Auger-Aliassime also finished fourth in men’s singles, Canada’s best Olympic result in either of the tennis singles tournaments.

In women’s singles play, Leylah Annie Fernandez reached the Round of 16, Canada’s best-ever result in that tournament.

Judo

Christa Deguchi won Canada’s first gold medal at Paris 2024, which was also Canada’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in judo. Deguchi’s victory in the women’s 57kg event was a first Olympic medal for Canada’s most decorated female judoka.

Boxing

Wyatt Sanford won bronze in the men’s 63.5kg event, Canada’s first Olympic medal in boxing in 28 years (since David Defiagbon‘s silver at Atlanta 1996).

Rugby Sevens

The nation’s first Cinderella story at these Games, Canada’s rugby sevens squad made it all the way to the gold medal game. Coming into the tournament ranked fifth, Canada had placed no higher than third at any international tournament in the year prior to Paris 2024.

But Canada played with a chip on their shoulder, upsetting France in the quarterfinals and shocking Australia in the semis. Canada even led at halftime in the gold medal game, before eventually falling to the defending Olympic champions, New Zealand.

The silver medal is Canada’s best-ever result in the event.

3×3 Basketball

The team of Michelle Plouffe, Katherine Plouffe, Kacie Bosch and Paige Crozon are notching all kinds of firsts in Paris. They the first Canadian team to compete in 3×3 basketball, which was introduced at Tokyo 2020.

They recorded Canada’s first-ever 3×3 win, over Australia on Day 4. And with another win over Australia on Day 8, they’ve earned the chance to play for Canada’s first-ever medal. That will be decided on Monday.

Basketball

Elsewhere on the hard court, Canada’s men returned to the Olympics and notched their first win since Sydney 2000. The team is through to the quarterfinals in search of what would be their first and only medal since a silver at Berlin 1936.

Artistic Gymnastics

In Canada’s first ever appearance in the men’s Olympic team final, René Cournoyer, Félix Dolci, William Émard, Sam Zakutney, and Zachary Clay finished eighth.

In the women’s team final, the team of Ellie Black, Cassie Lee, Shallon Olsen, Ava Stewart and Aurelie Tran matched Canada’s best-ever finish of fifth place.

Skateboarding

Cordano Russell finished seventh in the men’s street skateboard, Canada’s best Olympic result in any skateboard event.

Cycling – BMX

Jeffrey Whaley became Canada’s first ever Olympian in BMX freestyle when he competed in the men’s park event at La Concorde. He finished 10th in the qualification round, missing out on advancing to the final by one spot.

In BMX racing, Molly Simpson finished fifth for Canada’s best ever Olympic result in the women’s event and tie for Canada’s best ever Olympic result in the discipline.

Diving

Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray made history for Canada, winning the country’s first ever Olympic medal in the men’s synchronized 10m platform event, diving to bronze. 

Surfing

Way over in Tahiti, Sanoa Dempfle-Olin became Canada’s first ever Olympic competitor in surfing, making it to the second round in the women’s competition.

Canoe/Kayak Slalom

Kayak cross made its Olympic debut in Paris, with Lois Betteridge and Alex Baldoni becoming the first Canadians to ever compete. Both qualified for Sunday’s heats in their respective events.