Swimmer Penny Oleksiak is the flag bearer as Canadian athletes proudly march in Rio’s Olympic closing ceremony.
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On a blustery and rainy night, Oleksiak carried the Maple Leaf and led a Canadian contingent that surpassed its goal in Rio of finishing in the top 12 in the overall medal count. She trains in a quality environment in the pool that was the swim venue for last year’s Pan American Games.
Canadian Sport Institute President Dale Henwood tells the Alberta Morning News its obvious that Canada’s athletes were prepared, but he says there’s another reason for their success in Rio.
“Phenom. Phenom”, added chef de mission Curt Harnett.
The absence of multiple Russians suspended for doping and a slingshot effect from the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where the host team was second to the US with 217 medals, were perhaps factors in Canada’s medal haul.
“You know Canada has your back”, Oleksiak said.
“What happened in Toronto is that numerous top athletes, the medal-potential athletes heading into Rio competed in Toronto”, Merklinger said.
Long after most athletes had left the arrivals gate, gold medal-winning trampoline gymnast Rosie MacLennan stayed to sign autographs and take selfies with fans.
But Canada’s performance here in Rio was more than that, it was the way the athletes handled themselves in victory and defeat, how they met the challenges that always arise, how they didn’t succumb to the predictions of organizational horror.
“That’s where I think we first saw the change in the belief on the team that we can race with anybody”, he said. “Obviously we’re talking about two extraordinary performances”.
Oleksiak, Chantal Van Landeghem, Sandrine Mainville and Michelle Williams all train there.
Team Canada won 22 medals in total at the games, four of which were gold.
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“It will be a little bit of mayhem because we’re a small town inside of a big city”, Carlo said of Oleksiak’s return. “I love training there and I hope to be training there for the next few years and hopefully get better”. The pair said they are looking forward to figuring out where to display the midfielder’s bronze medal. The women also provided bronze medals in the team sports of soccer and rugby sevens.
