PARIS – From the end of Summer’s Games to Canada backing up its reputation as a hammer throw country, here are five things to know from Sunday at the 2024 Paris Games:
HAMMER HERO
Ethan Katzberg won the men’s hammer throw for Canada’s 17th medal and fifth gold in Paris. The 22-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., crushed the field with an opening throw of 84.12 metres. Bence Halasz of Hungary took silver at 79.97 metres. Katzberg also captured gold at last year’s world championships. In track, six-time medallist Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., missed his first Olympic final. De Grasse’s time of 9.98 seconds wasn’t enough to reach the 100-metre final. Noah Lyles of the United Stateswon in 9.79, edging Jamaca’s Kishane Thompson in a photo finish to claim the title of fastest man on earth.
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BRINGING HOME BRONZE
It might not be a gold medal, but Wyatt Sanford is looking forward to bringing home his hardware from the Paris Olympics. The boxer from Kennetcook, N.S., lost to France’s Sofiane Oumiha in the 63.5-kilogram semifinals Sunday. But by advancing to the final four he earned one of the event’s two bronze medals. Sanford says he has appreciated all the support he has received from his hometown throughout his Olympic journey. A crowd of around 400 of Sanford’s friends and neighbours watched the match at a viewing party at Kennetcook’s Findley Park.
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HOOP NIGHTMARES
For a second straight Olympics, Canada’s women’s basketball team is heading home after the preliminary round. And this time the Canadians are leaving without a win. Canada lost a must-win game against Nigeria on Sunday in Lille, losing 79-70 in a turnover-filled performance. That dropped Canada to 0-3 and ensured it wouldn’t advance to the quarterfinals. Despite being one of the world’s top-ranked women’s basketball teams, Canada has been unable to improve on its performance at the 2016 Games. The Canadians advanced to the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro before losing a hard-fought 68-63 decision to France.
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THAT’S A WRAP FOR SUMMER
Summer McIntosh came just short of adding to her medal haul on the final day of swimming in Paris. McIntosh and the Canadian women’s 4×100-metre medley team finished fourth, 0.68 seconds behind China, with the 17-year-old star swimming the freestyle anchor leg. The Toronto swimmer still leaves her second Games with three gold medals, one silver medal and two Olympic records.
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CLASH OF THE TITANS
Tennis fans at Roland Garros were treated to an epic final in the Olympic men’s singles competition. Serbian star Novak Djokovic overcame Carols Alcaraz on the Spaniard’s preferred clay surface to win 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a gold-medal match that lasted two hours 50 minutes. The gold medal completes a glittering resume for Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost in the semifinals to the eventual gold medallist at the previous three Olympics. Alcaraz was looking for his third high-profile title of 2024. He won the French Open at Roland Garros earlier this year before defeating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly stated Katzberg set an Olympic record.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
