Notable quotes from Canadians at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: July 25

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/07/2021 (1507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO – Here are some notable quotes from Canadians at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics from Sunday, July 25, 2021:

“Before our last dive, I knew we were in a good position for a podium finish. When I entered the water, I knew I had had a good dive. My first reaction then was to look at Melissa and she looked at me with big eyes and she said, ‘I got it’. I turned around and watched the reaction of the coaches and immediately knew that we had won the silver medal.”

–Jennifer Abel on the final dive three-metre synchronized springboard that earned her and teammate Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu a silver medal.

—–

“I think it’s kind of crazy. I think we were all hopeful that we would get a medal. We didn’t know what medal it would really be. I think we all just wanted one. For it to be a silver, it’s pretty crazy I think.”

–Penny Oleksiask after powering the anchor leg of Canada’s silver-medal-winning women’s 4×100 freestyle relay.

—–

“It’s not easy for anybody, adjusting at the last second. You think you’re going to play one guy and somebody else comes, a different game style than Andy. So it was just a little bit of mental adjustment.”

–Tennis coach Frank Dancevic on Felix Auger-Aliassime having to play Australia’s Max Purcell in the first round instead of Andy Murray, who withdrew with an injury.

—–

“We’ve all invested heavily in preparation for this event. We came here believing we could go home a gold medallist. All of our focus over the last two years has been on that. They’ve sacrificed in their lives incredibly to put themselves in this position.”

–Women’s softball head coach Mark Smith after the Canadians lost 1-0 to Japan to deny them a chance to play for gold.

—–

“I’m proud that I can call myself a two-time Olympian. I still made it here. The battle to get here is often harder than the battle fought in the ring. I’m still proud of my career, I’ve had a really great career up until this point.”

–Boxer Mandy Bujold, whose final Olympic appearance was a first-round loss. The 34-year-old won a human rights appeal to sport’s highest court to compete at the Tokyo Games.

—–

“The goal for me was always the gold medal, but I think realizing what it means to be an Olympian and even to be here at the Olympics surrounded by the world’s best athletes is incredible.”

–Skylar Park after an 18-7 loss to Taiwan’s Chia-Ling Lo in the women’s 57-kilogram taekwondo quarterfinal.

—–

“Looking back on it, yeah, I guess I wish I would have done it (vaccination) earlier. But thinking on scheduling purposes and having the PGA and defending Memorial, to be honest it wasn’t in my mind.”

–Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who was knocked out of the Olympic golf tournament for testing positive for COVID-19.

—–

“More than anything else I’m just focused on playing tennis. The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid so I feel like the break that I took was very needed. I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and I’m happy again.”

–Japan’s Naomi Osaka after a straight sets first-round victory, her first match in nearly two months.

—–

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2021.