10 Canadian athletes to watch in Paris

By: Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press Posted: 9:41 AM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 24, 2024

PARIS - A look at 10 Canadian athletes to watch in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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PARIS - A look at 10 Canadian athletes to watch in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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This article was published 24/07/2024 (440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PARIS – A look at 10 Canadian athletes to watch in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Summer McIntosh

A swim sensation at just 17-year-old, the Toronto athlete is poised for a multi-podium Paris. She’s a contender in four individual events and holds the world record in the 400-metre individual medley. McIntosh is expected to also compete in women’s relay teams challenging for medals.

Andre De Grasse

Sprinter enters his third Olympic Games with eyes on more hardware. The six-time medallist and reigning 200-metre champion says he’s healthy and has walked that talk leading into Paris. The 29-year-old from Markham, Ont. competes in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay.

Jessie Fleming

Inherited captaincy of women’s soccer team from Christine Sinclair. The 26-year-old midfielder from London, Ont., is a big-game veteran after Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and bronze in Rio in 2016.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

A finalist for this year’s NBA MVP, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard from Hamilton headlines a men’s basketball team looking to build on FIBA World Cup bronze last year. Canada’s last Olympic medal in men’s hoops was a silver in 1936 in Berlin.

Maggie Mac Neil

Defending Olympic champion in women’s 100-metre butterfly and relay stalwart, another multi-medal performance is in the cards for the 24-year-old swimmer from London, Ont., after earning a complete set in Tokyo. No woman has ever repeated as 100 fly champ.

Christa Deguchi

Judoka ranks No. 1 in the world in the women’s 57 kg class. She had to post better results than fellow-Canadian and world No. 2 Jessica Klimkait, a bronze medallist in Tokyo, to book her ticket to Paris.

Phil (Wizard) Kim

Breaking makes its first, and perhaps only, appearance at an Olympic Games as it isn’t on the menu for Los Angeles in 2028. Vancouver B-Boy Kim happens to be among the best among men with a 2022 world title and Pan American Games title on his resume.

Aaliyah Edwards

Since making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, the six-foot-three forward from Kingston, Ont., led the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to four straight Big East crowns and was drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2023 WNBA draft. The 22-year-old averaged 8.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a Mystics rookie.

Ethan Katzberg

Reigning world champion in men’s hammer throw is the favourite in Paris. The 22-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., threw 84.38 metres to start his outdoor season, which is the longest in the world in the last 16 years.

Women’s rowing eight

Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys and coxswain Kristen Kit are back to defend their Olympic gold joined by Abby Dent, Caleigh Filmer, Maya Meschkuleit, Jessica Sevick and Kristina Walker.

— With files from Gregory Strong, Abdulhamid Ibrahim and Gemma Karstens-Smith.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2024.