TORONTO, CANADA – Since the minute Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic Flame at the Japan Olympic Stadium a week ago, Canadian athletes have been competing non-stop in the pool, Budokan and other venues. As week one comes to a close, we look at Day 8 successes of current, former and incoming Canadian university athletes.
Kylie Masse does it again
If you’ve been reading these columns over the last week, you’ve heard her name several times. University of Toronto alumna Kylie Masse won her second medal of the Tokyo Games on DDay 8, capturing the silver in the women’s 200m backstroke.
The former OUA and U SPORTS champion lost only to Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, who also defeated the former Varsity Blue in the women’s 100m backstroke event just days earlier. With her second medal of the Games, Masse brought the Canadian women’s tally up to five in the pool.
She set a Canadian record time of two minutes 5.42 seconds, an incredible feat for an athlete who did not qualify for the event five years ago in Rio.
There is only one more Canadian event in the pool, which Canada will need to find a podium in if they are to match their medal haul from Rio 2016. The Canadian women’s 4×100 medley relay team race at 10:15 pm ET on Saturday and are medals favourites, as usual.
Team Canada Field Hockey end on a high
Team Canada is not advancing in the men’s Olympic field hockey tournament, but they ended the preliminary stage on a high point on Saturday. After losing their first four matches, they battled to a 4-4 draw with South Africa. While the team featuring 13 UBC Thunderbirds will not advance, they showed promise against top nations at moments, scoring goals against Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
What to watch: Beach Volleyball Round of 16
The world-leading pair of Mellissa Humana-Paredes (York) and partner Sarah Pavan are heading into the knockout rounds of the women’s volleyball tournament. After going undefeated in the group stage, the Canadians take on Team Spain, who qualified for the knockout stage through the lucky loser contest. That round of 16 matches goes at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday.
Also competing in the Day 8 beach volleyball session of the Toronto and York tandem of Heather Bansley and Brandi Wilkerson. They will face an American pair in the round of 16 as they look to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals.
The Canadian swim team will look for a medal at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the last time. The Canadian women’s 4×100 medley relay team races at 10:30 pm ET on Saturday. While the four swimmers are not yet confirmed, Kylie Masse and other U SPORTS student-athletes could find themselves swimming for gold.