PARIS – From Canada’s medal streak ending at nine days to Andre De Grasse’s quick turnaround, here are five things to know from Monday at the 2024 Paris Games:
STREAK BROKEN
Canada’s medal streak ended at nine days after Canadian athletes were held off the podium Monday. Canada’s women’s 3×3 basketball team had two chances to come away with hardware, but foul trouble and some turnovers led to a pair of losses and no trip to the podium. Canada lost 16-15 to Germany in the semifinals before falling 16-13 to the United States in the bronze-medal match. The streak of nine days of medals to open an Olympics matched Canada’s longest run, first set at the 2016 Rio Games.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Andre De Grasse had to shift focus quickly heading into his 200-metre heat. The sprinter from Markham, Ont., was coming off the disappointment of not qualifying for the 100-metre final despite putting down his best time of the year in Sunday’s semifinals. But he put that behind him and put down a solid heat in the 200, surging from the middle of the pack to finish behind 100-metre champion Noah Lyles of the United States. De Grasse, the reigning Olympic 200 champion, said the short turnaround was tough, but with a day off Tuesday he will be ready for Wednesday’s semifinals.
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JOB DONE … FOR NOW
The first task of qualifying for the women’s 10-metre platform is over for Caeli McKay. The diver from Calgary advanced after finishing seventh in her semifinal following a third-place performance in preliminaries. Now comes the hard part — securing her first Olympic medal in Tuesday’s final. McKay, who has two Olympic fourth-place finishes, said that while Chinese divers are almost a lock for gold and silver, the bronze medal is anyone’s to win.
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BLOCK PARTY
Brandie Wilkerson was a big presence at the net as she teamed with Melissa Humana-Paredes in a huge 2-0 win over Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristin Nuss in the women’s beach volleyball Round of 16. Wilkerson had a match-high five blocks, including one that put the Toronto tandem up 19-18 in the second set. She almost won the showdown with another block on match point, but the Americans managed to save it only for Wilkerson to deliver a spike they couldn’t handle.
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BEAM BLEMISHES
Simone Biles’ outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics was dampened somewhat on her final day of competition. The star American gymnast was denied a fourth gold medal after finishing second on the floor exercise and fifth on the balance beam. The beam competition, held in an eerie silence, seemed to flummox even the most skilled gymnast, with Biles and teammate Sunisa Lee among the competitors to slip on the apparatus. Italy’s Alice D’Amato didn’t seem bothered. She barely wobbled on her way to gold.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2024.