Canadian athletes have made history at the Paris Olympics, returning home with an impressive 27 medals.
Canada finished 11th out of 84 medal-winning countries, marking its second-largest medal count at a single Summer Games with nine gold, seven silver, and 11 bronze across 15 sports.
Canada’s most accomplished Summer Games was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when Team Canada won a total of 44 medals with 10 gold, 18 silver and 16 bronze.
“Team Canada, you crushed it, and had us glued to our screens all the way. Enjoy every moment of the Closing Ceremony — then hurry back home so we can celebrate with you. 🇨🇦,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an X post.
At the closing ceremony on Sunday, Olympic champions Summer McIntosh and Ethan Katzberg were honoured as the Ceremony Flag Bearers for Team Canada.
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McIntosh, a 17-year-old swimmer from Toronto, not only won three medals at the games but also set an Olympic record in both the women’s 200m butterfly (2:03.03) and the women’s 200m individual medley (2:06.56).
In addition, she won Canada’s first Olympic medal in the women’s 400m freestyle with silver, and gold medals in the women’s 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and 200m individual medley.
Swimmers Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun also made history, capturing silver and bronze respectively in the 100m butterfly.
This marked Canada’s first double podium in this event since the Montreal 1976 games and the first Olympic medals in the men’s 100m butterfly in 52 years.
Meanwhile, Katzberg became the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in any throwing event in 120 years.
The 22-year-old hammer throw athlete won gold by 4.15 metres, just two days before his teammate Camryn Rogers who took the women’s crown for the sweep at Stade de France.
Rogers captured gold in women’s hammer throw for Canada’s first Olympic medal in any women’s throwing event. Her gold medal is the country’s third ever Olympic gold in a women’s athletics event.
Notable firsts included Philip (Phil Wizard) Kim, who became the first b-boy Olympic gold champion as breaking made its Olympic debut this year, and Christa Deguchi, who became the first Canadian judoka to win an Olympic gold.
Katie Vincent made history as Canada’s first Olympic gold medallist in any women’s canoe or kayak event, setting a world record in the Canoe-Kayak Women’s C2 200m with a time of 44.12 seconds, and also winning bronze in the C-2 500m alongside Sloan MacKenzie.
Tennis stars Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski captured Canada’s first Olympic medal in mixed doubles and only the nation’s second tennis medal overall with a bronze.
Canada’s opening ceremony flag bearer, Andre De Grasse, along with teammates Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, and Brendon Rodney, won gold in the 4×100-metre relay with a time of 37.50 seconds.
De Grasse now has seven Olympic medals, tying him with swimmer Penny Oleksiak as Canada’s most decorated Olympian.
Track and field athlete Marco Arop won silver in the men’s 800m, achieving a personal best, Canadian record, and Americas record time of 1:41:20, marking Canada’s first Olympic medal in the event in 60 years.
Canada’s other opening ceremony flag bearer, Maude Charron, won silver in the women’s 59kg weightlifting category, becoming the second Canadian weightlifter to win two Olympic medals.
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The women’s beach volleyball team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson secured a silver medal, representing Canada’s best Olympic result in the sport and the country’s first medal in the women’s event.
Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team also achieved the country’s best-ever Olympic result in their sport with a silver medal.
Meanwhile, bronze medalists Alysha Newman won Canada’s first Olympic medal in the women’s pole vault, and Wyatt Sandford became the country’s first Olympic medallist in boxing since 1996 in the men’s 63.5kg weight class.
Fencer Eleanor Harvey and taekwondo player Skylar Park made history as Canada’s first Olympic medallists in the women’s individual foil and 57kg taekwondo events, respectively.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens earned bronze in men’s synchronized 10m platform, becoming Canada’s first Olympic medallists in this event.
Although some athletes did not secure medals, they managed to set Canadian records: Evan Dunfee and Olivia Lundman in the marathon race walk mixed relay with a time of 3:04:57, and sprinter Audrey Leduc in the women’s 100m with a time of 10.95 seconds.
Additionally, the Canadian women’s 4x100m relay team set a national record with a time of 42.50 seconds.
“That was a fun Olympics. So many surprises. Felt bad for woman’s soccer. Still a great success! 😁,” one X user said.
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“We’re so proud of all of you! Congratulations!,” another X user added.
As Canadian athletes wrap up this year’s games, the next destination for Summer Olympics 2028 has been revealed as Los Angeles, U.S.
But before that, there’s more coming as the Paralympic Games in Paris start run from Aug. 28 until Sept. 8.
