10 Greatest Canadian Olympic Victories at Rio 2016
Updated: Oct. 06, 2016
With four gold, three silver and 15 bronze medal wins, Team Canada did a spectacular job at Rio 2016. From swimming to wrestling to track and field, here are 10 of Canada’s greatest triumphs at the Games.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #10: Women’s Rugby Team
One of the best Canadian Olympic moments at Rio 2016 was the historic first-ever bronze medal for the women’s rugby team. Facing Great Britain for third place, the team dominated the match and led 26-5 at halftime. And with tries from four players, Team Canada rose victorious with a score of 33-10 on Aug. 8. Ghislaine Landry of Toronto, one of the team’s most prolific scorers, led Canada in scoring with 41 points.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #9: Women’s Team Pursuit
Canadian track cyclists Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay and Georgia Simmerling beat New Zealand to capture a bronze medal in women’s team pursuit on Aug. 13. After losing their first round match with Great Britain, the foursome faced off against New Zealand for the four-kilometre race, setting a national record time of 4:14.627, almost four seconds faster than the Kiwis.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #8: Damian Warner
On Aug. 18, Damian Warner of London, Ont. got his first Olympic medal when he won bronze in the decathlon. The decathlete crossed the 1,500-metre line with a season’s best time of 4:24.90. On the opening day, Warner gathered 4,489 points from the first five events, including reaching 7.67 metres in long jump, throwing 13.66 metres in shot put, and finishing the 400-metre run in 47.35 seconds.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #7: Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion
Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion won bronze medals in the 10-metre synchronized diving on Aug. 9. The Quebec pair also won bronze at London 2012. To place on the podium, Benfeito and Filion came back from fifth place on the final dive to beat North Korea and Great Britain. Before their victorious jump, the duo was nearly 14 points ahead of their opponents.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #6: Brianne Theisen-Eaton
After winning a silver medal for heptathlon at the 2015 World Championships, Brianne Theisen-Eaton of Saskatchewan won the bronze at Rio 2016 with 6,653 points. While she got off to a rough start, she triumphed with the javelin and then secured the bronze medal during the 800-metre on Saturday. The heptathlon combines the 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin and 800-metre over the course of two days.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #5: Erica Wiebe
Erica Wiebe of Ontario became the third Canadian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal when she captured gold in the 75-kilogram category. Defeating Kazakhstan’s Guzel Manyurova for first place on Aug. 18, it was her first time competing at the Olympics. In the six-minute final, Wiebe countered Manyurova’s attempt to get her off the mat and later managed to lock 38-year-old Manyurova into a vulnerable position, winning 6-0.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #4: Derek Drouin
Ontario‘s Derek Drouin returned to the podium on Aug. 16 for the second straight Olympics, this time with the gold. Drouin was one of three high jumpers left at the 2.38-metre mark. Mutaz Barshim of Qatar placed second, while Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko placed third. Drouin now doubles as reigning world and Olympic champion, having secured the first title at Beijing 2015 last year.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #3: Rosie MacLennan
After being flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies, gymnast Rosie MacLennan made history on Aug. 12 when she won the gold medal in women’s trampoline after also winning gold in London 2012. Placed sixth in the first routine, she later obtained a score of 15,000 points and took the lead in the final. The Saskatchewan native has become one of three Canadian athletes to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the same individual event, and the first to do so at the Summer Games.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #2: Andre De Grasse
21-year-old sprinter Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont. became Canada’s golden boy on Aug. 14 when he won bronze in the men’s 100-metre. Behind three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt in first place and American Justin Gatlin in second, De Grasse finished with a time of 9.91 seconds. The win was Canada’s first Olympic 100-metre medal since Donovan Bailey won gold in Atlanta 1996. De Grasse also won silver in the men’s 200-metre and bronze for the 4×100-metre men’s relay.
Best Canadian Olympic Moments #1: Penny Oleksiak
Sixteen-year-old Torontonian Penny Oleksiak made history at Rio 2016-she became Canada’s first athlete to win four medals at a single summer Olympic Games and Canada’s youngest ever gold medal winner. On Aug. 11, she set a personal best 52.70 seconds and tied with Simone Manuel of the United States for the gold in the 100-metre women’s freestyle. Oleksiak also won silver in the 100-metre butterfly, and led the Canadian team to bronze in the 4×100 and 4×200-metre freestyle relays.
Related features:
Canada’s Top 5 Summer Olympic Moments
10 Ways The Olympics Changed Canada
5 Most Infamous Olympic Scandals
