Elated to be home but exhausted after their long journey, members of Canada’s Olympic team, led by breakout swim star Penny Oleksiak, stepped through the arrivals area at Toronto’s Pearson airport early this morning in a triumphant return after an impressive 22-medal performance in Rio de Janeiro.
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Returning Olympic athletes get a water cannon salute.
Soccer player Ashley Lawrences parents donned Team Canada shirts to welcome their daughter. Oleksiuk won four medals, while Ruck won a pair of bronze medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre relay races. Fans in the country developed a reputation for booing their athletes’ rivals but Lawrence said it didn’t impact her team on the pitch.
We all had a good tournament and we definitely deserved to bring this home, Fleming said, holding her medal.
Most of the buzz focused on 16-year-old Oleksiak, who won four swimming medals at the Rio Games, including Canada’s first gold.
She said she did not think that life would be much different when she got back to Canada, adding that she was enjoying the notes of congratulations from friends, family and strangers.
Canada’s Olympic team (and their medal haul) were flying, and not just because of a great performance at the Rio Olympic Games.
“Probably not. Swimming Canada is such an incredible corporation, and they have helped me develop so much”, she said.
In her east-end Toronto neighbourhood of the Beach, residents are planning a celebration for her return, tentatively planned for August 28.
Teenage soccer fans Claire and Gillian Kilgour found out about the Olympic homecoming at midnight and got up at 4 a.m.to come to the airport with their father.
Canada walked away from Rio with six medals in the Athletics competitions, the most since the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, where they captured nine.
Each athlete, along with the coaches and support systems behind them, has worn the maple leaf with pride and represented us all with excellence and integrity.
“Many factors played a role”, said Isabelle Charest, Canada’s assistant chef de mission.
“It was really fun to watch all the girls do so well, but at the same time, we want everyone to do well”.
“So that’s, to me, where I’m hoping with the review that goes on with the whole targeting approach is: can we spend a greater percentage of the dollars a little bit deeper down the system?” he says.
“We are so proud of our very own Olympic medalist, Penny Oleksiak!”
Alternatively, professor of engineering Timothy Chan says if you look at Canada’s performance based on population per capita, we’re doing better than top ranked nations like China and the U.S. http://www.news1130.com/2016/08/17/are-canadian-olympians-outperforming-bigger-nations/.
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– Air Canada’s #FlyTheFlag initiative struck a chord with Canadians keen to show their pride throughout the games and achieved a peak of 500 mentions per hour on social media; – In 2012, the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award was inaugurated.
