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Rio 2016: Canadian athletes to watch

Andre De Grasse of Canada holds the Canadian flag after winning the men's 200 meter final on Day 14 of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games on July 24, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Canada is sending 314 athletes from 37 sports to Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics. These athletes are at the top of their game, and lots of them are on top of the world too — with a good shot at a medal based on their previous performance.

READ MORE: Canada hoping for top-12 finish in overall medal count

Here are some Canadian medal hopefuls to watch this Olympics:

Derek Drouin – high jump

Derek Drouin of Canada competes in the Men’s High Jump Final during day nine of the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships Beijing 2015 at Beijing National Stadium on August 30, 2015 in Beijing, China. Ian Walton/Getty Images

Drouin was the 2015 World Champion high jumper, and took home bronze during the last Olympics in London. The Corunna, Ontario native has been doing better than ever lately and stands a good chance of hopping back onto the podium in Rio.

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Melissa Bishop – 800 metre run

Melissa Bishop of Canada beats Alysia Montano of the United States across the finish line to win the women’s 800 meter final during Day 12 of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games on July 22, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Bishop won silver at the world championships in 2015 and was also the Pan Am champion that year. She’s currently among the top three athletes in that race length in the world — meaning she might be able to snag a medal.

Shawn Barber – pole vault

Shawn Barber of Canada competes in the Men’s Pole Vault final during day three of the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships Beijing 2015 at Beijing National Stadium on August 24, 2015 in Beijing, China. Ian Walton / Getty Images

Barber is the current pole vault world champion and also won gold at the Pan Am Games in 2015. He’s currently ranked third in the world, behind world record-holder Renaud Laviennie of France and Sam Kendricks of the U.S.

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Andre De Grasse – sprints

Andre De Grasse of Canada competes in the Men’s 100 metres heats during day one of the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships Beijing 2015 at Beijing National Stadium on August 22, 2015 in Beijing, China. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

De Grasse, although fairly young, has been burning up the track lately, winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints at the Pan Am Games in 2015 and bronze in the 100m and 4x100m sprints at the world championships. The Markham, Ont., native has been more subdued in 2016 so far, but should still be fun to watch as he goes into his first Olympics.

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Mandy Bujold – boxing (51kg)

Marlen Esparza of the United States (red) boxes Mandy Bujold of Canada (blue) in the women’s flyweight gold medal bout during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Oshawa Sports Centre. Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Bujold has gold medals from the Pan Am Games in 2011 and 2015 and came in 5th at the world championships in 2014. She’s currently ranked second in the world in her weight class.

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Mark de Jonge – K-1 200m

Mark De Jonge of Canada wins the bronze medal in the kayak single (K1) 200m men’s final A on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Eton Dorney on August 11, 2012 in Windsor, England. Francisco Leong - IOPP Pool /Getty Images

Kayaker Mark de Jonge won bronze at the London Olympics, but seems to have gotten better since then. He’s held the title of world champion for two years, won gold at the Pan Am games in 2015 and has been working hard going into his second Olympics.

READ MORE: Secret research will help Canadian kayakers go faster at the Games

Emily Overholt – swimming (400m freestyle, 400m individual medley)

This picture taken with an underwater camera shows Emily Overholt of Canada competing in the womens 400m freestyle preliminaries at the Pan American Games on July 17, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images

Overholt won three swimming medals at the Pan Am Games in 2015, setting a Pan Am record time in the 400m freestyle in the process. She also won a bronze in the 400m individual medley at the world championships. At just 18 years old, she’s one of several teen stars on the Canadian swim team in Rio.

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Allison Beveridge, Laura Brown, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay and Georgia Simmerling – Cycling team pursuit

Jasmin Glaesser of Canada takes the lead with her teammates on their way to a gold medal finish in the women’s team pursuit cycling track during the 2015 Pan Am Games at the Cisco Milton Pan Am Velodrome on July 17, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Harry How/Getty Images

Canada won silver in the team pursuit at the world championships this year. The country has a good record in this event: making it onto the podium at every major event since 2012. Interestingly, two of these athletes competed at a high level in different sports: Simmerling was an Olympic skier and Lay was a speed skater.

Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion – Diving

Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion of Canada dive at the Pan Am Games during the Women’ Synchronised 10m Platform Final at the Pan Am Games on July 13, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Al Bello/Getty Images

Whether diving individually or as a pair, Benfeito and Filion have seen lots of medals over the years. They took home Olympic bronze in London in 2012 in the 10m synchro event. They also won silver at the world championships in 2013 and 2015 in that event. Filion was the top-ranked diver in the women’s 10m platform at the end of the 2016 world series.

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Will Crothers, Kai Langerfeld, Conlin McCabe, Tim Schrijver – Rowing (men’s four)

Canadian rowing athletes (right to left) Will Crothers, Kai Lagerfeld, Conlin McCabe and Tim Schrijver enter the conservatory room at Casa Loma as their names are announced, in Toronto, on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima

The men’s four rowing team won gold at Pan Am and bronze at the world cup in 2015. Two of them were also part of the Olympic silver medal-winning men’s eight crew.

Caileigh Filmer, Susanne Grainger, Natalie Mastracci, Cristy Nurse, Lisa Roman, Christine Roper, Lesley Thompson-Willie, Antje von Seydlitz, Lauren Wilkinson – Rowing (women’s eight)

Canada competes in the Women’s Eight Heats on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Eton Dorney on July 29, 2012 in Windsor, England. Harry How/Getty Images

This team is consistently ranked second in the world behind the United States. They recently won bronze at the 2015 World Championships. Coxswain Lesley Thompson-Willie is heading into her eighth Olympics, tying the all-time record for Olympic appearances by a woman. She’s 56 years old.

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Rosie MacLennan – Gymnastics, trampoline

Rosannagh MacLennan, of Canada, performs on her way to winning the gold medal during trampoline finals at the Pan Am Games in Toronto on Sunday, July 19, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

MacLennan won Canada’s only gold at the London Olympics, and has won many medals at other international competitions since then. She will also be carrying the flag for Canada at the Opening Ceremony in Rio.

Antoine Valois-Fortier – Judo (81 kg)

Canada’s Antoine Valois-Fortier (white) competes with Russia’s Ivan Nifontov (blue) during their men’s -81kg judo contest quarter final match of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 31, 2012 at the ExCel arena in London. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/GettyImages

Valois-Fortier is currently ranked fourth in the world in his weight class. He’s won silver and bronze medals at the world championships, and also holds a bronze medal from his Olympic debut in London.

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The Rio Olympics kick off with an Opening Ceremony Friday night. Check out Global News’ Rio 2016 page for the latest updates.

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