Olympic Roundup: Canada’s first medal comes in the pool
Posted Aug 7, 2016 05:31:53 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was only fitting that Canada’s first medal of the Rio Olympics came from a team of women athletes.
Canada capped its opening day in Rio with bronze in the women’s 4×100-metre swim relay, adding some hardware to what was a fantastic day for the nation’s women’s teams.
Canada’s Olympic Committee set a goal of 19 medals heading into Rio, and the swim team of Montreal’s Sandrine Mainville, Winnipeg’s Chantal Van Landeghem and 16-year-olds Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, B.C., and Penny Oleksiak of Toronto gave them a good start with a strong swim in the 4×100 relay final.
Oleksiak, who earlier qualified for the final in the women’s 100-metre butterfly, held off the Netherlands with a strong anchor leg as Canada finished in a time of three minutes 32.89 seconds. It’s Canada’s first medal in the event since the 1976 Montreal Games.
Toronto’s Michelle Williams, who didn’t swim in the final but participated in the earlier heats, will also get a medal.
Emily Overholt of Vancouver also had a shot at a medal in the women’s 400-metre individual medley. A triple-medallist at the Pan Am Games in Toronto last year, Overholt finished fifth in the final.
Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 400-metre freestyle on Saturday at the Rio Games, falling short of the medal round for a third straight Olympics.
Cochrane finished his heat in 3:45.83 to place 11th overall. The top eight swimmers advance to Saturday night’s final.
“It’s frustrating, but I know I’m fortunate enough to have two chances at the Olympics and not a lot of people get that second chance,” said Cochrane, who will race in the 1,500 freestyle – his best event – on Friday.
Noemie Thomas of Richmond, B.C., and Sydney Pickrem failed to advance in their respective events. Thomas placed in a tie for 18th in the 100 butterfly while Pickrem finished 12th overall in the 400 individual medley.
SOCCER
Canada’s women’s soccer team remained undefeated in Rio with a 3-1 win over Zimbabwe. Christine Sinclair scored in Canada’s win while 21-year-old forward Janine Beckie scored Canada’s other two goals. Canada has an early flight Sunday for Brasilia where it will take on No. 2 Germany on Tuesday in Group F play.
ROWING
Canada’s Carling Zeeman advanced to the quarter-finals in the women’s single sculls as the Olympic rowing competition kicked off in windy conditions. Two other Canadian crews failed to advance and will have to row in repechage rounds.
The 25-year-old Zeeman from Cambridge, Ont., won her heat in a time of 8:41.12. The top three in each heat advance. Ireland’s Sanita Puspure was second followed by Nadia Negm of Egypt.
Brendan Hodge of South Delta, B.C., Maxwell Lattimer of Delta, B.C., Nicolas Pratt of Kingston, Ont., and Eric Woelfl of St. Catharines, Ont., will need to race in Sunday’s repechage after finishing fourth in their heat and missing a chance to book a spot in the semifinals.
The men’s quadruple sculls crew of Julien Bahain – who was born in France but now competes for Canada – Will Dean of Kelowna, B.C., Kingston’s Rob Gibson and Pascal Lussier of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., finished fifth in their heat and will also have to row again Monday if they are to race in the final.
BASKETBALL
Tamara Tatham of Brampton had 20 points as Canada opened its quest for a first ever Olympic medal with a win over China. Team captain Kim Gaucher of Mission, B.C., led all players with 10 rebounds. The lopsided score came as a bit of a surprise as China is ranked eighth in the world, one spot higher than Canada. Canada will play Serbia on Monday.
RUGBY
Ghislaine Landry had a pair of tries – including one 30 seconds into the match – as Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team beat Japan 45-0 to open their quest for an Olympic medal. Bianca Farella also had a pair of tries to help Canada take a 26-0 lead at halftime. Kayla Moleschi, Brittany Benn and Natasha Watcham-Roy also scored. Women’s rugby is making its Olympic debut in Rio, while the men’s game returns after a 92-year absence.
TENNIS
Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., was victorious in her Olympic debut, making short work of American Sloane Stephens with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Bouchard won on a break when Stephens sent her volley long while facing match point.
The news was not as good for Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.. He was eliminated after losing his first-round match to Gael Monfils of France, 6-1, 6-3.
Other Canadian results on Saturday at the Rio Summer Olympic Games:
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Men – Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter, both Richmond Hill, Ont., lost their preliminary-round match to Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil, 2-0 (21-19, 22-20).
CYCLING
Men’s road race – Mike Woods, Ottawa, finished 55th overall in six hours, 30 minutes and five seconds; Antoine Duchesne of Chicoutimi, Que., and Hugo Houle, Ste-Perpetue., Que., did not finish.
EQUESTRIAN (EVENTING)
Individual Dressage – after the first day of competition, Kathryn Robinson, Kettering, England, and her horse Let It Bee, are ranked 21st with 49.40 points; Jessica Phoenix, Cannington, Ont. (A Little Romance), are 25th (52.00).
Team Dressage – Canada stands ninth overall with 101.40 points.
FENCING
Women’s Individual Epee – Leonora McKinnon of Newbury, U.K. won her opening match 15-10 over Simona Pop of Romania, but was eliminated after losing 15-8 to Rossella Fiamingo of Italy in the round-of-32.
FIELD HOCKEY
Men – Canada lost their preliminary-round opener 6-2 to Germany.
JUDO
Men’s -60 kilogram class – Sergio Pessoa, Montreal, was eliminated after losing his opening match 11-2 to Amiran Papinashvili of Georgia.
TABLE TENNIS
Women – Mo Zhang of Chilliwack, B.C., won her opener 4-3 over Hana Matelova of the Czech Republic, but later lost 4-1 to Georgina Pota of Hungary.
Men – Eugene Wang, Ottawa, def. Jorge Campos of Ecuador, 4-2.
