Canada caps Olympic Games with record medal haul
PARIS – Canada’s record performance at the Olympic Games in Paris did not happen without thorns, but athletes provided unforgettable sporting moments.
Nine gold medals and 27 total medals were both records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics to surpass previous highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona.
“There have been some highs, some lows, some surprises, a lot of surprises, joy and heartbreak, and we’ve seen it all here in Paris,” Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith said Sunday.
Canada ranked 11th among 84 countries that won medals in both total and gold. The United States is poised for a strong outing as host in Los Angeles in 2028 after finishing atop the table in Paris with 122 medals, including 38 gold.
Canadians won medals across 15 different sports, which matched the previous high of the boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics in L.A.
Swimming’s eight medals and track and field’s five accounted for almost half of Canada’s output in Paris. Including medallists, Canadians finished top five 49 times.
Summer McIntosh led in the pool with triple gold and four medals in total. Ethan Katzberg’s hammer throw gold was a first, and followed two days later by his teammate Camryn Rogers taking the women’s crown for the sweep at Stade de France.
McIntosh and Katzberg, who left France after their events, were invited back to Paris to carry the Maple Leaf in Sunday evening’s closing ceremonies.
“It was an incredibly successful Olympics for Canada and that’s really great to see,” Katzberg said.
Phil (Wizard) Kim capped Canada’s production with the first Olympic gold medal in men’s breaking Saturday at Place de la Concorde.
Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and anchor man Andre De Grasse
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