Tokyo Olympics: Canada wins first medal of the games with silver in 4x100 freestyle swimming relay

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Latest Olympic updates

OLYMPIC EVENTS FOR JULY 24

• Swimming: Canada’s women’s 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay team has won a silver medal – the country’s first of the Games. The young team finished in a time of three minutes 32.78, with Australia winning gold in a world-record time of 3:29.69, while the U.S. finished third in 3:32.81.
• Boxing: Canadian Boxer Mandy Bujold’s long journey to the Olympics is over with a loss in her first match of the games. But her real win happened outside the ring, winning human-rights appeal in order to attend the games, and paving the way for a standard of accommodation for women who were pregnant or postpartum during the qualifying period.
• Skateboarding: Canada’s Mickey Papa and Matt Berger competed in the men’s street skateboarding competition tonight, finishing in 10th and 20th place respectively. A late decision to fly to Tokyo to serve as a skateboarding alternate has paid off for Canada’s Annie Guglia, who will now get to compete after a South African athlete is out with an injury.
• Judo: Japan’s Naohisa Takato won gold in the men’s under 60 kilogram competition for judo, with Japan’s Funa Tonaki securing silver in the women’s under 48 kilogram category. Japan, the birthplace of judo, holds more medals in the sport than any other country. With 86 medals in total, one in five of Japan’s Olympic medals are in judo.

OFF THE FIELD

• COVID-19: Olympics organizers reported 10 new Olympics-related COVID-19 cases, bringing the disclosed total to 132. Dutch rowing coach Josy Verdonkschot was one of the recent positive tests. On Friday, the very first match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament was cancelled because a Czech player tested positive for COVID-19.
• Viewership: In the U.S., NBC says its broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremonies hit a 33-year low, drawing 16.7 million viewers. For comparison, the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games broadcasted by CBC attracted a total of 31 million Canadian viewers over the whole games.
• Refugees: Three athletes competing for the Refugee Olympic team will attend Sheridan College in Ontario this fall as part of the first cohort of a new athletic stream of the Student Refugee Program. Rose Nathike Likonyen, Paulo Amotun Lokoro and James Nyang Chiengjiek fled South Sudan as children and grew up in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya where they currently live.

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Olympic highlights for July 24

Opinion: At the Tokyo Olympics, Michael Woods was a hair’s breadth away from being the stuff of national lore

Michael Woods came milliseconds away from the podium during the men’s road race, and milliseconds away from forever capturing the hearts and minds of Canadians. Despite the near miss, Woods’ performance was captivating. Columnist Cathal Kelly writes, “When he is up in the saddle and headed to vertical, Woods is something to watch. He’s like a piston with arms.”

Penny Oleksiak, women’s swimming team face Olympic-sized expectations in Tokyo

The Canadian women’s swimming team won big at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, bringing home six medals. They surprised Canada, the world, and even themselves. Fast forward to today’s Tokyo Olympic Games, and Canada wants them to do it all over again. At the centre of the team is Penny Oleksiak, who spearheaded Rio’s medal captures despite being just 16 at the time. She arrives in Tokyo with massive expectations on her shoulders.

Taiwan competes as ‘Chinese Taipei’, broadcasters jump through hoops to appease China

Nathan VanderKlippe, currently reporting from Tokyo, shares musings about the geopolitics present at the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee does not allow Taiwan – a self-governed nation – to compete under its own name, instead appearing as Chinese Taipei under a special flag. Online streaming service Tencent interrupted their coverage of the opening ceremony to ensure Chinese viewers didn’t have to see the Taiwanese athletes participate in the parade.

Tokyo Olympic events to watch tomorrow, July 25

• Softball: Canada’s women’s team plays its fourth game of the Olympics against Japan at 1:30 a.m. ET after beating Australia 7-1 in its previous game.
• Swimming: Keep an eye out for Kylie Masse in the women’s 100-metre backstroke and 14-year-old Summer McIntosh of Toronto in the women’s 400-metre freestyle events.
• Judo: Elimination rounds are scheduled for 10 p.m. (ET) for the women’s 57-kilogram, the weight category for Jessica Klimkait of Team Canada.
• Diving: Canada will compete in the women’s three-metre synchronized springboard, represented by the veteran Olympian Jennifer Abel alongside Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu, who is making her Olympic debut this year.
• Taekwondo: In the women’s 57-kilogram weight class, Skylar Park is hoping to bring home Canada’s first medal in taekwondo since the 20018 Beijing Olympics. She topped the podium in the sport at the Pan Am Games this year.
• Cycling: Leah Kirchmann of Winnipeg, Karol-Ann Canuel of Amos, Que., and Alison Jackson of Vermilion, Alta are competing in the women’s road race alongside 64 other competitors. The race kicks off in Tokyo and brings the cyclists 137 kilometres to the foothills of Mount Fuji.

Check the full Olympic schedule for the latest event times and competitors.

The Tokyo Olympics: Essential reads

What athletes and teams should Canadians look out for? Consult our guide.

How did Canada’s swimmers use data to get stronger? Grant Robertson and Timothy Moore explain.