Laurier Alumni shine in Olympics Games
The 2024 Paris Olympics began on July 26 and officially finished on Aug. 21. Although Canada faced some less-than-ideal circumstances, including a drone spying scandal involving the Canadian women’s soccer team, their athletes persisted in competitive climates and won 27 medals across 14 sports, the most they have ever won in the Olympics.
It truly was the summer of Summer when a 17-year-old from Toronto, Summer McIntosh, became the first Canadian Olympian to win three gold medals in one Olympic contest. She also won silver in the Women’s 400-metre freestyle.
The Canadian women’s soccer team was defeated in penalties by Germany in their quarter-final match after a scoreless game. Even though they could not safeguard their title, they battled through the hardship and showed they are improving as a squad.
Following Team Canada’s drone scandal, Beverly Priestman, former head coach of Team Canada, was suspended for one year by FIFA. Without an official coach and reasonable administration, the team battled through their rounds with fervor, despite the six points that were deducted. Canadians could not win against the Germans and will have to wait until 2028 to reclaim what was formally theirs. Although veteran and former captain, Christine Sinclair, was not on this year’s Olympic lineup (she declared her retirement from international duty in 2023), defender Vanessa Gilles showed outstanding effort and she scored the monumental goal to send her squad to the quarterfinals.
The Women’s Sevens team made history this Olympics by defeating Australia to win a silver medal, their best-ever performance in Canada’s rugby history. The women won their semi-final match 21-12 and faced New Zealand in the gold medal match. Despite their eventual descent, the women encouraged little girls and boys nationwide to join rugby leagues in their area because the sport is rapidly expanding in popularity internationally.
Josh Liendo (one silver) and Ilya Kharun (two bronze) excelled in their men’s 100-metre butterfly campaigns. For Liendo, this was his first Olympic medal and it became a historic moment as Kharun joined him on the podium to celebrate their dual achievement.
Canada’s women’s beach volleyball team made history on Aug. 9 by winning their first-Olympic medal after losing to Brazil in their gold medal match. They previously defeated Switzerland in their semi-final match 15-12. The only other time Canada has secured an Olympic medal in beach volleyball was in 1996 by the men’s team. Brandie Wilkerson, a Toronto native, helped her squad win silver by scoring a total of 149 points throughout the tournament, averaging approximately 19 points a match.
Andre De Grasse, born in Scarborough, won a gold medal as he competed in the men’s 4×100-metre relay. This achievement came as a surprise because he was not favoured to win, as he failed to qualify for the 100 and 200-metre relays. De Grasse now has seven Olympic medals and is tied with Penny Oleksiak for the most medals acquired by a Canadian Olympian.
Wilfrid Laurier University alum and beach volleyball player Sam Schacter competed alongside Dan Dearing, but unfortunately forfeited their lucky loser round match against Chile after Dearing appeared to suffer a leg injury.
The next Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in 2028 and include many new sports, including men’s and women’s flag football, baseball/softball, lacrosse, cricket and squash. With the hundreds of sports teams available to Laurier students, the opportunity is available to represent Team Canada in 2028 like fellow Laurier students and alumni have!
This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 1 on Thursday, August 29.
