Paris 2024 marked a significant moment for gender equity in the Olympic movement. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, an equal number of quota spots were available for men and women, making them the first Games to achieve gender parity.

As we celebrate progress in gender equity, it is important to acknowledge the tireless work that it has taken to get to this point, and some significant pushback that women’s sport has encountered along the way. 

And the work is far from over. Women remain underrepresented in many other areas of the Games, including but not limited to, coaches, officials, and media. The Olympic Winter Games have yet to achieve gender parity for athletes, though Milano Cortina 2026 is set to be the most gender-balanced Games yet with 47 per cent of quota spots allocated to women.

In the spirit of remembering the efforts of the past as we continue to push towards the future, below is a list acknowledging the Olympic sports for which there was a gender gap in the inclusion of women’s competition versus men’s. 

Paris 1900: Only men competed at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Four years later, at Paris 1900, 22 women competed, compared to 975 men. There were women’s events in tennis and golf, and women competed alongside men in croquet and sailing.

St. Louis 1904: Women’s archery debuts at the Games. Men’s archery had debuted four years earlier, at Paris 1900.

Stockholm 1912: Women’s swimming makes its Olympic debut, although women are only allowed to compete in two events, versus the seven available for men, who had been competing in Olympic swimming since 1896, marking a 16 year gender gap. Swimming was the first “major” Olympic sport to include women. Stockholm 1912 also marked the debut of women’s diving, which had been open to men for eight years, since St. Louis 1904.

Paris 1924: Women’s fencing debuts at the Olympic Games, 28 years after men’s fencing. At this time, women only had one event available to them, while men had six. 

Amsterdam 1928: Women’s athletics and artistic gymnastics make their Olympic debuts. Men’s competition for both sports had existed since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, marking a gender gap of 32 years. 

There were only five women’s athletics events available for women, compared to the 22 available for men. There was only one women’s artistic gymnastics team event, while men had a team event as well as six individual events.

One of the women’s athletics events at Amsterdam 1928 was the 800m. In direct contradiction to what transpired on the track, media reported afterwards that several women collapsed and others could not finish the 800m race. This account gained traction despite photographic and video evidence showing that all nine women completed the race and that a couple of them laid down on the track after a world-record effort (as was common for male athletes to do). The IOC and IAAF proceeded to bar women from competing in races longer than 200m for over 30 years under the patronising guise of “protecting” women from themselves. 

London 1948: Women’s kayaking debuts at the Olympic Games. Only one event is available to women, while men had the opportunity to compete in two kayak events as well as two canoe events (which women would wait seven more decades to compete in, more on that below). Men’s paddling had been part of the Olympic program since 1936, marking a gender gap of 12 years.

Oslo 1952: Women’s cross-country skiing debuts at the Olympic Games. Men had competed in cross-country skiing since the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in 1924, marking a gender gap of 28 years.

Helsinki 1952: Women are allowed to compete in Olympic equestrian events for the first time, 52 years after men began competing in equestrian at Paris 1900. At these Games, women were limited to competing only in dressage. Four years later, they would be allowed to compete in jumping and then finally eventing at Tokyo 1964.

Squaw Valley 1960: Women’s speed skating makes its official Olympic debut, 36 years after men’s speed skating was on the program of the first Olympic Winter Games. 

Mexico City 1968: Women compete in Olympic shooting for the first time, while men had been competing in it since the first modern Olympic Games 72 years earlier.  Starting at Mexico City 1968, women competed directly against men. Separate women’s shooting events were not included until 1984.

Montreal 1976: Women’s rowing debuts at the Olympic Games 76 years after men’s rowing was first included. Women’s basketball debuts 40 years after men’s basketball.

Moscow 1980: Women’s field hockey makes its Olympic debut, marking a gender gap of 72 years after men’s field hockey was part of the program.

Los Angeles 1984: LA 1984 features the first Olympic women’s marathon. The men’s marathon had been contested since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, marking a gender gap of 88 years. Women’s road cycling also made its Olympic debut 88 years after the men’s competition.

The 1984 Olympic Games were also when the first two women-only sports were included on the Olympic programme—rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized (now artistic) swimming.

Seoul 1988: Women’s track cycling debuts at the Olympic Games. Only one event was available to women versus the five available for men. Track cycling for men was included in 1896, marking a 92-year gender gap. Seoul 1988 also marks the debut of separate sailing events for women.

Albertville 1992: Women’s biathlon makes its Olympic debut 32 years after the inclusion of men’s biathlon.

Barcelona 1992: Women’s judo debuts at the Olympic Games 28 years after men’s competition.

Atlanta 1996: Women’s soccer makes its Olympic debut 96 years after men’s soccer.

Nagano 1998: Women’s hockey debuts 78 years after men’s hockey became an Olympic sport during the summer Games at Antwerp 1920. Women’s curling debuts as the sport returns to the Olympic programme for the first time since 1924 (where there had only been a men’s event). 

Sydney 2000: Women’s weightlifting makes its debut at the Olympic Games, 104 years after men’s weightlifting, which was one of the original sports of the modern Olympic Games. Women’s water polo made its Olympic debut a century after the men’s competition. Women’s modern pentathlon made its Olympic debut 88 years after the men’s sport.

Salt Lake City 2002: Women’s bobsleigh is contested at the Olympic Games for the first time, 78 years after men competed in the sport at the first Olympic Winter Games.

Athens 2004: Women’s wrestling makes its Olympic debut. Men’s wrestling was one of the sports included in the first edition of the modern Olympic Games, making for a gender gap of 108 years.

London 2012: Women’s boxing makes its Olympic debut. Men first competed in Olympic boxing in 1904, making for a 108-year gender gap. Boxing was the last summer Olympic sport that was for men only, so London 2012 marked the first Games where women competed in every sport on the summer Olympic programme.

Sochi 2014: Women’s ski jumping makes its Olympic debut, 90 years after the men’s edition of the sport.

Tokyo 2020: Women’s canoe events debut at the Olympic Games, 84 years after men were given the opportunity to compete in canoe events. 

READ: Historic Olympic achievements by Team Canada women

Each Team Canada medallist from Paris 2024 has received $5,000 per medal earned through the Team Canada Podium Awards and $13,210 each from the Tania Esakin Fund.

“For a Team Canada athlete, donor support means everything. It is an incredible honour to train for years, represent our country at the Olympic Games and be able to bring a medal home for Canada was amazing,” said Kristen Kit, Team Canada Olympic rower and Paris 2024 silver medallist. “At the end of the day though, knowing that you made your fellow Canadians proud and that all your work meant something to them, is what makes it all worth it. I cannot thank the Malaviya Foundation and the Esakin family enough for their support.”

The Team Canada Podium Award has been granted to Team Canada medallists since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, totaling almost $1.6 million to date, and will continue through the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. In addition, the Malaviya Foundation has also donated $200,000  to Olympic and Paralympic Next Generation Initiatives, to support up and coming Canadian athletes.

“As we reflect on Paris 2024 and look ahead to Milano Cortina 2026, we are immensely grateful for the Malaviya Foundation’s continued leadership, in celebration of the excellence that Canadian athletes continue to demonstrate on the world stage.” said Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Sanjay Malaviya, the Canadian healthcare tech entrepreneur and founder of the Malaviya Foundation, says Team Canada inspires the nation in countless ways.

“Canadian sport has the power to strengthen and bring communities together. It’s a privilege to celebrate the successes at Paris 2024, and to support the athletes who have made the country proud,” he said.

The distributed grants also came from the Tania Esakin Fund, established through an estate gift to the Canadian Olympic Foundation from Cecile  Esakin. At his wishes, the fund was divided equally among Canadian medallists from Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. 

Find out more about how you can support Team Canada athletes here.

In addition to donor funding, $815,000 has been granted to Team Canada Paris 2024 medallists from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund, bringing the combined total to $1.75 million in funding support to these podium athletes. The Athlete Excellence Fund is a support and reward program that provides Canadian athletes with performance awards of $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 for winning Olympic gold, silver or bronze medals respectively. It also provides funding of $5,000 for performances at World Championships (or equivalent) during non-Olympic years, to support living, training, and competition expenses.

First with the head, and then with the heart.

Each athlete took what they needed from that. To first-time Olympian Maya Meschkuleit it meant that “you go as hard as you can with all your technique, and then when your technique isn’t enough, you go with your heart—you think about all the hours you’ve put in. You think about your family and your supporters and the girls in the boat and you find that extra gear. You find that 1%.”

And that 1% straight from the heart was what propelled Team Canada onto the podium for a second straight Olympic Games. Here are some of the riveting, behind-the-scenes stories of their remarkable row to silver.

Getting to Paris

The road to Paris 2024 took Canadian rowers through two qualification regattas. Ultimately, Canada could only claim berths in the women’s eight and the women’s lightweight double sculls, much fewer boats than have been sent to other Olympic Games in recent memory. The silver lining was that the women’s eight could be absolutely stacked—all of Canada’s top talent in one boat.

“Normally, we’re trying to create three boats out of the pool of 20 [athletes], but we were only creating one boat,” said veteran Olympian Sydney Payne. “I’ve never rowed the eight so much in my life.”

The final crew selection for Paris 2024 included four veterans of Team Canada’s gold medal-winning women’s eight from Tokyo 2020: Payne, Avalon Wasteneys, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, and Kit as the coxswain. Three other Tokyo 2020 Olympians—Caileigh Filmer, who had won bronze in the women’s pair with Hillary Janssens, Kristina Walker, who had competed in the women’s four, and Jessica Sevick, who had been in the double sculls—added additional Olympic experience to the boat. Meschkuleit and Abby Dent would make their Olympic debuts, guided by the wealth of experience on the team.

It was important to talk to a few members of the crew to get a fulsome picture of their experience at Paris 2024—not only because there are some differences in opinion on their path to the final (is Team Canada’s penchant for racing the repechage a blessing or a curse?)—but also because, well, all of them say they blacked out for portions of the final race.

To repechage or not to repechage 

Team Canada’s journey began in the heats at Stade Nautique de Vaires-Sur-Marne, facing tough opponents including the likes of Great Britain, who won the heat in 6:16.20, and Australia, who finished second in 6:18.61. Team Canada finished third, with a time of 6:21.31, and would need to route through the repechage to get to the final.

“We, as a Canadian women’s program, whether it’s a small boat or big boat, unfortunately have a bit of a history of being a little too slow in the heats,” Payne admitted sheepishly. “No one really knows how we’re going to break this spell. We keep trying, but it keeps happening that we have a mediocre heat, and then we have to light it up in the rep[echage] to make sure that we’re okay to go to the final.”

But Canada also has a history of lighting it up in the final, despite doing some extra racing along the way. The Tokyo 2020 women’s eight raced the repechage en route to their gold medal, proving that a bit of extra racing didn’t slow them down.

Payne is of the opinion that a journey through the repechage is not inherently bad, as it’s another opportunity to get a race under the team’s belt, to practice strategy, and to work through any issues. In Paris, the team identified the need to work on being faster off the start, and the repechage offered the opportunity to practice that. 

But some on the team are more eager to break the curse of the repechage and avoid the extra physical effort en route to the final.

“Some of the girls took some confidence from [the similarity of the team’s path through the repechage to that of Tokyo 2020]…I’m not a fan of it,” Filmer said with a laugh.

And her opinion carried weight with the team, as one of the most experienced athletes in the boat. Filmer raced in the women’s eight at Rio 2016 that placed fifth, taking the stroke seat at only 20 years old. She considered her bronze medal with Janssens in Tokyo as her storybook ending in the sport of rowing and retired after those Games, choosing instead to focus on cycling. 

“For two years, I didn’t touch an oar,” Filmer said.

But when she heard that the women’s eight had been struggling at a few World Rowing Cups, she was lured back onto the water.

That being said, there are definitely elements from her time spent road cycling that she brought back with her into the boat.

“When I was riding, I was in a role where I would work for our team leader in a domestique role, helping to support her. And so you never really got to see yourself doing well, but then you get to see your teammate doing well and she can only get there with the entire team doing their parts,” Filmer explained. “It’s very different, but also very similar to the eight, where everyone needs to do their roles.”

With a fast start as a priority, Team Canada led for most of their repechage, ultimately finishing second to a surging Team USA. The Canadians rowed to a time of 6:04.81, a significant improvement from the heat, and enough to send them to the Olympic final where they would face Romania, Great Britain, Australia, Italy, and the United States.

Controlling the controllables

As most athletes will tell you, on race day, it’s about controlling the controllables. The weather? Out of your hands. The other teams’ preparations? Nothing to do with you. What you have for breakfast? Your choice. How you style your hair? Completely up to you.

As such, doing each other’s hair has become a team ritual, a controllable they can control, and a low-key activity to do together. However, even hair is done with performance in mind.

“It’s more aerodynamic to have it pretty slicked back and in a low, not a high bun,” Filmer said. 

The team also added a new and uber Canadian ritual to their pre-race routine: taking a group shot of maple syrup ahead of the final.

The shot was Walker’s idea and the syrup was tapped by her uncle. It succeeded in being a fun mood-booster ahead of the race, which Payne said can be really important.

“Anytime before a race when we can add something that’s a little bit silly or fun, I love it,” Payne said. “It’s just a way to loosen up, to smile, to laugh, and to remind us we’re doing this because we love it.”

Filmer has a similar attitude. When racing with Janssens, they would always say the same thing to each other right before the starting gun: “We love this.” Filmer kept that tradition at Paris 2024.

The Olympic final

Now was the time to go first with the head, and then with the heart. 

Team Canada executed on that fast start that they had worked on in the repechage, reaching the 500m mark first, ever so slightly ahead of Romania. 

Not that the athletes would know this, because Kit’s most consistent call to them, over and over, was: “Keep your head in the boat, keep your head in the boat.” There would be no sneaking glances at competitors, no double checking where they stood in the race—nothing mattered but their boat and their rhythm. 

With a surge from the Romanians, Team Canada passed through the midway mark in second, but with a hard-charging Team GB chasing them down. 

At 500m to go, Kit yelled at the crew the same thing she yelled at Tokyo 2020, a simple, but very motivating question: “What colour medal do you want?”

Despite each athlete saying they blacked out for portions of the race, that question still somehow made it through.

“I’m getting full body goosebumps just thinking about it now,” said Meschkuleit. “I think it helped us find another gear.”

At 250m to go, the buoys on the water switch to the colour red, which sparks the ominous phrase, “red means dead,” as crews are reaching their absolute limits. Romania had pulled away, but Canada needed to hold off Great Britain.

As they crossed the finish line, Payne looked up to the screen for the result; it showed Romania in first, but nothing else.

“There was this long pause that I hadn’t felt in Tokyo. I was like ‘What happened? Where are we? What is going on?’”

And then the rest of the podium flashed on the screen—Canada in silver, Great Britain with bronze.

All Payne could think then was: We did it. We did it. We did it.

Meschkuleit was slightly distracted at the finish by her two teammates behind her—Filmer and Sevick in the bow seat—passing out from the sheer effort of the race. Excitement was tinged with concern as the medical boat headed towards them.

“I don’t remember anything in the second half of the race,” said Filmer. She’s seen photos and video of the team crossing the line.

“Everyone is cheering and has their hands up, and they’re all hugging each other. And then the medical boats are coming up because Jess and I are fully collapsed in the bow.

“But that’s an eights race,” she added with a chuckle.

The celebration

After returning to shore, there was media, and the victory ceremony. While nine athletes stood on the podium for Team Canada, Payne is emphatic that their Olympic success was the result of a group of eleven, which included their two alternate athletes, Kristen Siermachesky and Cassidy Deane. 

“Our story is the collective contribution of all eleven people,” she said.

And then, finally, there was the chance to celebrate with family and friends. It had been decided that the rowing team would  isolate ahead of their events, so the athletes had not yet seen their supporters in Paris.

“It was very emotional, not just seeing your own family, but seeing all your teammates with their families, and everybody getting to celebrate and support each other,” said Payne. “We didn’t get to experience that in Tokyo, so that was a really, really special moment.”

For Meschkuleit, it marked the achievement of a childhood goal she jotted down after meeting Christine Sinclair—to represent Canada at the Olympic Games.

“Being able to have that full circle moment of this goal sheet I had written when I was 13, and now 10 years later I’m on the podium at the Olympics…honestly, it still doesn’t feel real,” she said.

To the future

Now with back-to-back podiums, Canada has again established itself as a powerhouse in the women’s eight—regardless of how they may progress through the regatta—and will be a force to be reckoned with in Los Angeles.

And they’ll navigate their journey to LA 2028 their own way—first with the head, and then with the heart.

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.

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.

Here’s a look back at all the Team Canada action!

Paris 2024 Competition Schedule

Swimming

The evening session started off with a bang as Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun won silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 100m butterfly. Liendo finished in 49.99 seconds, just 0.09 back of gold medallist Kristof Milak of Hungary. Kharun, who had won bronze in the 200m butterfly a few days ago, came in 0.46 behind his teammate. This is Canada’s first double podium at the Olympic Summer Games since Montreal 1976, which also came in swimming and is Canada’s only other Olympic double podium in the sport.

About 40 minutes later, Summer McIntosh won her third gold medal and fourth medal of Paris 2024 as she set an Olympic record time of 2:06.56 in the women’s 200m individual medley. She becomes the first Canadian athlete, winter or summer, to win three gold medals in one Olympic Games. She ties teammate Penny Oleksiak for the most medals won by a Canadian athlete at one edition of the Olympic Summer Games.

The night was capped with a fifth-place finish in the mixed 4x100m medley relay by Kylie Masse, Finlay Knox, Liendo, and Maggie Mac Neil. That is Canada’s best Olympic result in the event, which debuted at Tokyo 2020.

Also in the evening session, Taylor Ruck finished 13th overall in the semifinals of the women’s 50m freestyle and will not advance to the final. She had been eighth-fastest in the morning heats.

The morning session also included the heats of the women’s and men’s 4x100m medley relays. Canada was second fastest in the women’s heats as the quartet of Ingrid Wilm, Sophie Angus, Mary-Sophie Harvey, and Penny Oleksiak finished in 3:56.10. Canada heads to the final of the men’s final ranked seventh after Blake Tierney, Knox, Kharun, and Javier Acevedo posted a time of 3:32.33.

Rowing

It was particularly fitting that Team Canada’s women’s eight delivered the first medal of Day 8 of Paris 2024. 

The crew of Jessica Sevick, Caileigh Filmer, Maya Meschkuleit, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Avalon Wasteneys, Sydney Payne, Kristina Walker, Abby Dent, Kristen Kit rowed to silver for their second straight Olympic medal in the event. Team Canada completed the 2000m course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in 5:58.84 to finish behind a powerful Romanian boat.

READ: Canada’s rowing eight is battle tested, and back on the podium

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Tennis

Félix Auger-Aliassime came up just short of winning a second bronze medal at Paris 2024. A day after reaching the podium in mixed doubles with Gaby Dabrowski, he fell in three sets in the men’s singles bronze medal match to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

His fourth-place finish is still a great accomplishment as he posts Canada’s best Olympic result ever in either of the singles tennis tournaments.

Athletics

It was a tough day at Stade de France as Damian Warner no-heighted in the pole vault, the third-last event of the decathlon, ending his hopes of defending his Olympic gold medal. Devastated, he then withdrew from the competition. Warner had been sitting second place heading into the pole vault.

Audrey Leduc missed out on advancing to the final of the women’s 100m when she placed 12th overall in the semifinals in a time of 11.10 seconds.

Andre De Grasse is the lone Canadian man moving on from the first round of the men’s 100m. He finished third in his heat in 10.07 seconds. Aaron Brown had a false start in his heat and was disqualified while Duan Asemota was fifth in his heat in his Olympic debut.

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot is moving on to the semifinals of the men’s 1500m after finishing second in his repechage heat. He will not be joined by Kieran Lumb who was eliminated following his fifth-place finish in the other repechage heat.

Jazz Shukla was also eliminated in the repechage of the women’s 800m.

Football (Soccer)

Canada bowed out of the women’s soccer tournament in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Germany in the quarterfinals. After the match finished 0-0, Germany would win 4-2 on penalty kicks. Quinn and Janine Beckie converted their penalty kicks for Canada.

It’s Canada’s first loss at the Olympics since the semifinals of Rio 2016, also against Germany. And it’s the first time since Beijing 2008 that Canada won’t win a medal in women’s soccer, after winning bronze at London 2012, bronze at Rio 2016 and gold at Tokyo 2020.

Canoe/Kayak Slalom

In the first round of women’s kayak cross, Lois Betteridge finished fourth in her heat, forcing her into a repechage. Betteridge finished second in her repechage, qualifying her for the elimination round.

Alex Baldoni finished second in his heat, and will move on to the elimination round. Those elimination rounds begin on Sunday.

Beach Volleyball

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson are into the Round of 16 in the women’s tournament after winning their “lucky loser” match 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) over Czechia’s Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova. They had not received the direct bye into the Round of 16 after dropping their final preliminary round match 2-0 (21-14, 22-20) to Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasjia Samoilova, so ended up in the must-win scenario to keep their medal hopes alive.

Unfortunately, Sam Schachter and Daniel Dearing had to forfeit their lucky loser match to Chile’s Marco and Esteban Grimalt after playing just three games due to a back injury Dearing had sustained.

Artistic Gymnastics

Ellie Black and Shallon Olsen represented Team Canada in the women’s vault final. Black scored 13.933 to finish sixth, while Olsen scored 13.366 to finish eighth. The gold medal went to American Simone Biles. It was the third straight Games at which Olsen had qualified to the eight-woman vault final while Black was back in it for the first time since her Olympic debut at London 2012.

Road Cycling

Derek Gee and Michael Woods raced through the French countryside and the streets of Paris during the men’s road race. Woods and Gee crossed the line together, finishing the 273 kilometre course in a time of 6:26:57. They placed 41st and 44th, respectively.

3×3 Basketball

Team Canada defeated Azerbaijan 21-19 to finish fourth in pool play. This required the Canadians to play an additional play-in game against Australia. The Canadians emerged victorious from that game, by a final score of 21-10. Kacie Bosch was the team’s high scorer with nine points while Paige Crozon contributed five.

Golf

After three days of play at Le Golf National, Corey Conners is tied for 17th in the standings at 7-under-par after repeating his round two performance of a 2-under-par 69. Teammate Nick Taylor sits tied for 34th place at 2-under-par. He scored his best round yet, with a 3-under par 68.

Sailing

After the third day of racing in the ILCA 6 class, Sarah Douglas sits in 11th place. Day 8 saw her highest placing in the opening series, finishing eighth in race number six. Four races remain in the opening series before the top 10 sailors advance to the medal race.

Volleyball

The Canadian men’s volleyball team has been eliminated after dropping their final preliminary round match 3-2 to Serbia. Canada had won the first two sets (25-16, 25-22) before losing three straight (24-26, 19-25, 16-18). Canada went winless in the tournament.

Judo

Team Canada fell 4-0 to Uzbekistan in the mixed team elimination round of 16. The Canadian team included 57kg gold medallist Christa Deguchi, along with Arthur Margelidon, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, François Gauthier-Drapeau, Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi, and Shady Elnahas.

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For a second straight Games, and sixth time in Olympic history, Canada has won a medal in women’s rowing eight.

And for a second straight Games, Canada’s road to the podium did not come without some adversity.

“What I love about this group of women is when we get backed into a corner, we fight, and we fight together, we do it together,” said coxswain Kristen Kit.

“I saw an opportunity, and anything can happen in an Olympic final. We knew that going into the race and we seized that opportunity.”

At the start of the week, the rowing eight opened Paris 2024 with a time of 6:21.31 in their heat – only the fifth fastest out of seven nations. Heat winners Great Britain clocked in at a time over five seconds faster than Canada. The defending Olympic champions did not look like a serious contender for the podium.

But just like in 2021, Canada used the repechage to improve on their run before the final. In Tokyo, the crew rowed to a Canadian record time in the repechage, and in Paris, they improved on their heat time by 16.5 seconds.

In Saturday’s final, Canada came blazing out of the game and led after 500 metres. They were passed by Romania shortly after but held their podium position through the final 1500, holding off a late charge from Great Britain to come away with silver.

The defending Olympic champions covered the 2000-metre course in five minutes, 58.84 seconds, their fastest time of the week, to earn silver.

“It’s never over until it’s over, and these girls fought,” said Kit. “They were still fighting right until the line – we were pushing as hard as we could to catch Romania.

Avalon Wasteneys, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Sydney Payne, and coxswain Kristen Kit have become two-time medallists in the rowing eight as they returned from the gold medal crew in Tokyo 2020.

Caileigh Filmer, who won bronze in women’s pair in Tokyo, joins four of her crew members with a second Olympic medal.

In 2019, Filmer took three months away from rowing to focus on her mental health and was unsure if she would return to the sport. But with support from family, friends, and teammates, she returned to compete. Now she’s a two-time Olympic medallist.

READ: Caileigh Filmer: Talking openly about mental health helped me on my path to win an Olympic medal

“Coming back into the sport, I was just inspired to help the legacy of Canadian women rowing, and I was inspired by the women who were in that boat that won gold (In Tokyo).”

Abby Dent and Maya Meschkuleit made their debut in Paris in style. Kristina Walker, rowing in her second Games, also earned her first medal.

Since the last Olympics, the women’s eight had won Pan Am Games gold at Santiago 2023, and bronze at the 2022 World Championships.

In 2024, they placed first at the Rowing World Cup, striking gold in Lucerne in May with a time of 06:04.47. 

For Canada, it’s the 44th medal all-time in rowing, trailing only athletics and swimming in most successful summer sports all-time.

“I am just completely fulfilled,” Filmer said. Everyone in the world better watch out because Canadian rowing is here and it’s not leaving anytime soon.”

The crew of Jessica Sevick, Caileigh Filmer, Maya Meschkuleit, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Avalon Wasteneys, Sydney Payne, Kristina Walker, Abby Dent, Kristen Kit completed the 2000m course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in 5:58.84 to finish second behind a powerful Romanian boat.

Off the start, Romania took the lead, but Canada stuck with them through the first 500m and it was the Canadians who were first to the first checkpoint, but by just 0.05. Romania responded quickly, picking up their stroke rate to re-take a lead they would not relinquish. At the midway mark, Romania led Canada by 1.3 seconds, who were being closely trailed by Great Britain.

While Romania continued to extend their lead — getting to almost a full boat length at 1500m — the Canadians continued to be chased by the Brits. By the time they reached the finish, Romania had open water for the victory while Canada held off Great Britain for second place by 0.67 of a second.

Just as the eight did before winning gold at Tokyo 2020, this crew had to go through the repechage to get into the final after placing third in their heat on Monday. They finished second in the repechage, after which Dent said “In an Olympic year you don’t really get many races, so every race is another opportunity to fine-tune.” She also added that the team had more left in stock for the final.

This is Canada’s sixth Olympic medal all-time in the women’s eight.  

Here’s what you don’t want to miss:

Team Canada Athletes Competing Today

Tennis

Félix Auger-Aliassime will play in the men’s singles bronze medal match against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. That will be the fourth match up on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland-Garros where action gets underway at noon local / 6:00 a.m. ET 

Rowing

The Canadian women’s eight will race to defend their gold medal from Tokyo 2020 in the A Final at 10:50 a.m. local time / 4:50 a.m. ET. As they did in Tokyo, the Canadians had to race in a repechage heat on their way to the final.

Football (soccer)

Team Canada will play Germany in the quarterfinals of the women’s soccer tournament at 7:00 p.m. local time / 1:00 p.m. ET. The Canadians are undefeated in the tournament thus far while Germany had two wins and one loss in group play.

 READ: Defying all odds, Canada’s players march on in women’s soccer

Athletics

Track and field action will get off to a start at 10:00 a.m. local / 4:00 a.m. ET. Damian Warner will contest the second day of the men’s decathlon, with the 110m hurdles, discus throw and pole vault on deck in the morning. The evening session will feature the javelin and 1500m–after which the Olympic champion will be crowned. After the first day of competition, Warner sits in fourth with 4561 points.

The first round of the men’s 100m will include two-time Olympic bronze medallist Andre De Grasse, as well as Aaron Brown and Duan Asemota.

Jazz Shukla will compete in the women’s 800m repechage, also in the morning session.

In the evening session, beginning at 7:00 p.m. local / 1:00 p.m. ET, Kieran Lumb will compete in the first repechage heat for the men’s 1500m, while Charles Philibert-Thiboutot will compete in the second repechage heat. The top three in each heat will advance to the semifinals.

Audrey Leduc will race in semifinal heat number three of the women’s 100m. The top two athletes in each heat, plus the next two fastest overall, will advance to the final, which will take place later in the evening.

Paris 2024 Competition Schedule

Swimming

Swimming action is ongoing at Paris 2024! In the morning session, beginning at 11:00 a.m. local time / 5:00 a.m. ET, Taylor Ruck will race in the women’s 50m freestyle heats in the hopes of qualifying for the evening’s semifinals. Team Canada will also field relay squads in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relay heats.

In the evening session, starting at 8:30 p.m. local / 2:30 p.m. ET, Josh Liendo will race in the men’s 100m butterfly final. Summer McIntosh and Sydney Pickrem will compete in the women’s 200m IM final

Canada is also qualified for the mixed 4x100m medley relay final after Blake Tierney, Apollo Hess, Maggie Mac Neil, and Taylor Ruck were sixth-fastest in the Friday heats.

Road Cycling

Derek Gee will celebrate his 27th birthday by competing in the men’s road race alongside Michael Woods. The 274km route is one of the longest in Olympic history. It gets started at 11:00 a.m. local / 5:00 a.m. ET.

Artistic Gymnastics 

Ellie Black and Shallon Olsen will compete in the women’s vault final. Black is coming off a sixth-place finish in the individual all-around. Olsen has qualified for the vault final at the last two Olympic Games. The final goes at 4:20 p.m. local / 10:20 a.m. ET.

Judo

Mixed team judo competition will begin at 8:00 a.m. local time / 2:00 a.m. ET. Team Canada has a bye into the Round of 16, where they will take on Uzbekistan. The tournament will continue throughout the day, with the podium being decided in the afternoon session, beginning at 4:00 p.m. local / 10:00 a.m. ET. This is the first time Canada will be entered in the mixed team event which debuted at Tokyo 2020.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games Information Hub

Beach Volleyball

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson will take on Tina Graudina and Anastaija Samoilova of Latvia at 5:00 p.m. local / 11:00 a.m. ET for their final match of the preliminary round. A top two finish in their pool would get the Canadians directly into the Round of 16. They currently have a 1-1 record, as do the Latvians.

Canoe/Kayak Slalom

The first round of women’s and men’s kayak cross will take place, featuring Lois Betteridge and Alex Baldoni. Those start at 3:30 p.m local / 9:30 a.m. ET. The first two in each heat will advance to the knockout rounds while the remaining paddlers will move onto the repechage starting at 6:05 p.m local / 12:05 p.m. ET.

Sailing

Day 8 will see another day of ILCA 6 races. With three races done over two days of competition, Sarah Douglas sits in 17th place.

Volleyball

Team Canada’s men’s volleyball team will play Serbia in their final preliminary round match at 9:00 p.m. local / 3:00 p.m. ET. Both teams come in with 0-2 records in Pool A.

Golf 

Team Canada’s golfers, Corey Conners and Nick Taylor, will tee off for their third round of men’s individual stroke play. Conners will tee off in Saturday’s third round alongside Rory McIlroy of Ireland and Jason Day of Australia at 11:44 a.m. local / 5:44 a.m. ET. Taylor will tee off in Saturday’s third round at 9:44 a.m. local / 3:44 a.m ET.

3×3 Basketball

Team Canada will take on Team Azerbaijan at 5:30 p.m. local /11:30 a.m. ET in their final match of the preliminary round.

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