At the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, Canadian athletes brought back the nation’s largest medal haul since the 44 earned at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and the most gold medals since Barcelona in 1992.
It was a tremendous outing, and so, many star athletes are eyeing up a return to the podium in Paris this summer, while several others are making enough noise to potentially earn Canada even more medals in the French capital.
There’s still plenty of qualification to be done, but if injuries can be avoided, there are some clear expectations for medals in certain events, perhaps leading to a gold medal clutch greater than that of Tokyo three years ago.
Tennis
In its history at the Summer Olympics, Canada has won one medal in tennis. That medal was gold and won in the men’s doubles by Sébastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Still, this year, there’s a quiet anticipation for two of Canada’s highly-rated women to mount a challenge on the podium. The frontrunner would appear to be Leylah Fernandez at this stage.
Ranked 32nd on the WTA Tour and still only 21-years-old, in November last year, she played the leading role in winning the Billie Jean King Cup for Canada, coming up clutch in the singles and alongside Gabriela Dabrowski in the doubles.
Fernandez is often a popular pick in tennis betting markets, and should she be selected for the 2024 Paris Games, Canada could be among the leading contenders in the women’s events.
The other star in the equation is Bianca Andreescu. The oft-injured US Open winner of 2019 has said that she’s eyeing a full return to action and to have her name in the conversation for the Olympics this summer.
Andreescu has until June 10 to get herself into the Top 56 of the rankings to be considered for a ticket to Paris.
Swimming
Canada looks set to be a dominant force in the women’s swimming events once again at the Summer Olympic Games, hopefully headlined by the nation’s most decorated athlete.
Penny Oleksiak, whether in a singles event or a relay, always brings the odds into Canada's favour in the best sport betting Ontario has to offer.
She’s now down in California to amp up her preparations for Paris, but by September 2023, she’d only competed once that year due to a knee and hand injury.
The 23-year-old looks set to be alongside Summer McIntosh again, who was the youngest swimmer for Canada in Tokyo, and since then, she’s collected four medals at the World Championships.
Maggie Mac Neil also figures to feature heavily, having been key to Canada’s 2023 Pan American Games gold medal and record-breaking gold in the 100m butterfly.
In Paris, many medals – especially a gold or two – are to be expected from Canada if their star athletes are fit and ready to go.
Hammer Throw
Paweł Fajdek, of Poland, had established an incredible legacy at the World Championships, winning each of the last five gold medals in the hammer throw. In 2023, he finished fourth, partly thanks to the efforts of Ethan Katzberg.
The Canadian stormed to the gold in Budapest and added the gold and the Canadian record – 81.25 metres – at the Pan-American Games.
Katzberg is on the ascendancy, he’s only 21-years-old, and looks primed for the Paris podium. Given that he’s the youngest men’s hammer throw world champion already, the biggest stage of them all shouldn’t bother him too much.
Sprinting
After taking gold in one of the most coveted track events, Andre De Grasse’s career hasn’t exactly been plain sailing.
Now 29-years-old, the 200m gold medallist has suffered from a myriad of injuries since the Tokyo Games in 2021, tumbling to sixth in his favoured event and well into double-digit ranking for the 100m.
More pressingly, if he’s fit and raring to go, De Grasse will have to face the much-lauded Noah Lyles of the United States. At the World Championships, the American netted gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m.
As such, expectations for another gold from De Grasse are, presently, quite low. There’s still time for him to reach his peak before Paris, but anywhere on the podium may now be the goal.
Boxing
Boxing offers a whole heap of podium opportunities, and at the latest top-tier test of amateur boxers, Canada fared rather well.
In the men’s divisions, Wyatt Sanford beat Mexico’s Miguel Martínez to take gold, while in the women’s, Tammara Thibeault conquered Atheyna Bylon of Panama for the top spot.
Around Sanford and Thibeault, Charlie Cavanagh, Mckenzie Wright, Bryan Colwell, and Junior Petanqui brought back bronze medals to mark an impressive collection for Canada and a grand baseline to push on in Paris.
Soccer
Back in September 2023, Canada’s women qualified for the Paris Olympics to defend their gold medal this summer, brushing aside Jamaica 4-1 on aggregate in the decisive game.
Joining Canada in Paris will be the United States, Spain, New Zealand, France, Colombia, Brazil, and five others. While Spain and France are first and third in the rankings, those more local certainly pose a threat.
The 2024 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which is taking place right now, might be quite telling of Canada’s hopes in Paris. The United States, Brazil, and Colombia are all in attendance and poised to go to the knockout round.
At the time of writing, Canada were the clear group leaders and easing their way through to the next stage, which is where they’ll meet some of the best teams in the world.
This is just a glimpse of the hundreds of Canadian hopefuls that will be off to the 2024 Summer Olympics, but hopes are high, particularly in swimming and soccer this year.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
