Canada’s athletics team finishes with highest Olympic medal haul since 1932
Canada's athletics team is coming home with six medals from the Rio Olympics, its largest haul since the 1932 Games in Los Angeles.
Canada’s athletics team had its best showing at the Olympic Games since 1932 with six medals in Rio. Led by Derek Droiun’s gold medal in the high jump, Canada’s first gold since 1996, the team improved six-fold over its performance in London.
Drouin was the only medallist in London in 2012 with a bronze in the high jump. This year’s team was said to be the deepest ever and Canada pulled through by placing eighth in the overall IAAF placings for athletics. In addition to the team’s six medals, there were four fourth-place finishes by Canadians.
Canada won nine medals at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Special stats: Historical perspective for all countries on the athletics medal table in #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/VAyTT8cIxB
— Atletizm Dünyası (@atletizmdunyasi) August 21, 2016
Athletics, the umbrella term for track and field, concluded Sunday with the men’s marathon. The Canadians, Eric Gillis and Reid Coolsaet, had superb results led by Gillis’ 10th-place finish in what was the race of his life. Coolsaet was 23rd after battling through injury for much of the buildup to the Rio marathon.
RELATED: Interactive map: The hometown of every runner on Canada’s Olympic team.
“The only word I have is outstanding, the whole team performed well, above expectations we had coming in,” says Peter Eriksson, the head coach of Athletics Canada. ” There are so many performances to outline, I look at it as an overall great performance. Now we need to think about what we to get better, that will be part of the plan going forward to 2020 and 2024.”
RELATED: The must-see moments of the men’s marathon at the Rio Olympics.
Leading the way for Canada was sprint superstar Andre De Grasse. The 21-year-old Markham, Ont. native won three medals in Rio including silver in the 200m and bronze in the 100m and 4x100m relay. He set a national record in the men’s 200m and helped Canada break the 4x100m national record from 1996.
Canada’s six medals in athletics contributed to the nation’s overall medal count of 22 as of Sunday afternoon. The closing ceremony in Rio begins tonight at 7 p.m. EDT.
Team Celebration at @TeamCanada Olympic house for @AthleticsCanada ! Best result since 1932! pic.twitter.com/P20tpAgI8w
— Trent Stellingwerff (@TStellingwerff) August 21, 2016
Here’s a look back on Canada’s results in athletics.
Canadian medallists
Gold
Derek Drouin – High Jump
Silver
Bronze
Andre De Grasse – 100m
Brianne Theisen-Eaton – Heptathlon
Damian Warner – Decathlon
Men’s 4x100m relay team (Akeem Haynes, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse, Mobolade Ajomale)
Top-eight finishes
4th: Melissa Bishop – 800m
4th: Evan Dunfee – 50K walk
4th: Mohammed Ahmed – 5,000m
4th: Women’s 4x400m relay (Carline Muir, Alicia Brown, Noelle Montcalm, Sage Watson)
6th: Jonathan Cabral – 110m hurdles
7th: Women’s 4x100m relay (Farah Jacques, Crystal Emmanuel, Phylicia George, Khamica Bingham)
8th: Phylicia George – 100m hurdles
Canadian records set at the Olympics
Melissa Bishop – 800m (1:57.02)
Andre De Grasse – 200m (19.80)
Evan Dunfee – 50K walk (3:41:38)
Geneviève Lalonde – 3,000m steeplechase (9:30.24)
Men’s 4x100m relay (37.64)
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