PARIS – From high hopes for a hammer-throwing sweep to a highly anticipated showdown on the hardwood, here are five things to look out for at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, Aug. 6:
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HAMMER HOPES
Camryn Rogers of Richmond, B.C., is the favourite to win gold in the women’s hammer throw. Rogers, who entered the Olympics ranked No. 1 in the world in her sport, qualified first in her group for Tuesday’s final with a throw of74.69 metres. Rogers is hoping to complete a Canadian sweep of hammer-throwing gold in Paris after Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., dominated Sunday’s men’s event. Rogers and Katzberg also swept the gold medals at the 2023 world championships in Budapest.
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STAR-STUDDED QUARTERFINALS
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Canada into a men’s basketball quarterfinal against Victor Wembanyama and France at the Bercy Arena in Paris. Canada went 3-0 through the preliminary round, but now must face a medal contender to have a shot at bringing home hoops hardware for the first time since a silver at the 1936 Berlin Games. Canada beat France 85-73 in an Olympic tuneup on July 19 behind 23 points from Gilgeous-Alexander. Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid of the United States are among the other big names playing in quarterfinal action Tuesday.
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TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Calgary’s Caeli McKay looks to step on the Olympic podium for the first time when she competes in the women’s 10-metre platform diving final. McKay advanced by finishing seventh in Monday’s semifinals after placing third in the preliminary round. McKay has twice finished fourth in the Olympic synchro 10m competition, including at these Games, and would love to go one step further on Tuesday. Canada already has one diving medal in Paris, with Saskatoon’s Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., taking bronze in men’s 10m synchro.
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DYNAMIC DEBUT
Christopher Morales-Williams looks to build on his Olympic debut when he runs in the 400-metre semifinals. The 20-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., qualified for the semis by finishing second in his heat. The 16th-ranked Canadian has the third-highest seeding of the nine runners in his semifinal, which includes No. 2 Matthew Hudson-Smith of Britain. Regardless of the competition, Morales-Williams has already shown he is capable of putting down a competitive time. The reigning indoor and outdoor NCAA champion ran a time of 44.49 seconds at the SEC Indoor Championships in February. That was the fastest indoor time ever in the event, but was not recorded as a world record due to an issue with the starting blocks.
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TOUGH TASK
Canada’s women’s water polo team looks to pull off a major upset when it takes on Spain in quarterfinal action at Paris La Defense Arena. Spain, the silver medallist three years ago in Tokyo, cruised through the preliminary round with a 4-0 record. Canada was 1-3, but its win over China allowed it to take the fourth and final quarterfinal spot in its group. Spain has won four straight matches over Canada, including a 12-9 victory at this year’s world championships.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press