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Canada at the Games
Top moments from the Tokyo Olympics as photographed by The Globe’s Melissa Tait
Rosie MacLennan was a heavy gold medal favourite, having won gold in trampoline gymnastics at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. In Tokyo she placed a painful fourth. There were a few brief moments of tears before she left Ariake Gymnastics Centre. It was revealed after the competition that MacLennan had severely injured her ankle two months before the Olympics. It was bandaged during the Tokyo competition.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
“The lasting story out of these Tokyo Olympics is how COVID-19 upended the world’s biggest sporting event, with silent stadiums (except for the cicadas) and mask protocols,” photojournalist Melissa Tait writes. “And while the pandemic touches everything, from my perspective as a photographer the lasting moments from the Games are still dominated by the joy (and surprise) at winning a gold medal, the anguish at placing fourth, and the power of some of the world’s strongest and fastest athletes in the world.” Here’s a look at some of the Games’ top moments captured by her lens.
Tokyo aftermath
Mental health in the spotlight
Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Games may best be remembered for shining the spotlight on athletes’ mental health. Most notably, U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles withdrew from some events to focus on her mental health and then returned to competition, winning a bronze medal on the balance beam. Today, New Zealand’s cycling federation said it would review its mental health support for athletes following the sudden death of Olympian Olivia Podmore at the age of 24. She cycled at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but was not part of New Zealand’s Tokyo team.
Up next: Beijing in 2022
No Olympic breather, here comes Beijing in less than six months
Another Olympic Games with more layers of dissent and debate than Tokyo are less than six months away in China. Tokyo’s organizing committee and the International Olympic Committee were questioned and criticized whether it was prudent to hold the Games while coronavirus numbers spiked in the city. The world will not likely be entirely free of the COVID-19 pandemic before Beijing’s Feb. 4 opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Beyond the pandemic, however, is the rising volume of criticism directed at China for its human rights records and calls for a boycott of Beijing’s Winter Games in 2022.
Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole today voiced concerns that Canadian athletes may not be safe if they travel to China for the Games, after a Chinese court rejected Canadian Robert Schellenberg’s appeal against the death penalty for drug trafficking. His sentence, and the detainment of former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, are seen as retaliatory for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the Vancouver airport in 2018 at the request of U.S. officials. A Chinese court is expected to announce a verdict for Spavor at 10 p.m. ET tonight, while Meng’s extradition hearing in B.C. is expected to enter the evidence phase this week.
If NHL players are able to participate at the coming Beijing Olympics, Canada will have a two-time Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, behind its bench. The schedule for the coming NHL season leaves room for an Olympic break, but the league has said no final decision has been made.
What our columnists are saying
After a flat end to the Tokyo Games, Paris takes up the difficult task of making the Olympics exciting again
“During the hand-off between Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, every prerecorded segment popped. In shots taken from the rooftops, Paris looked alive and new. Like you could go back there for the first time. Like you should go back there for the first time.
“The centrepiece was a live view from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where thousands of unmasked, cheering (Ed. note: Huh? Wut’s that?) locals, along with a collection of French medalists, were overflown by stunt jets trailing the bleu, blanc et rouge.
“How much of a bummer was Tokyo 2020? The previews were better than the feature.” - Cathal Kelly
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Best of the Olympics
Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
A golden moment for the Canadian women’s soccer team
After taking home bronze in both the London and Rio Olympics, Canada’s women’s soccer team were focused on the goal to change the colour of their medals in Tokyo. Under veteran captain Christine Sinclair, Canada advanced to the final with a win over former gold-medal winners the United States to play Sweden. To say it was a nail-biter is an understatement. Sweden scored first, then Canada tied it up with a penalty kick. Following a goalless extra time, it came down to a penalty shootout, with Julia Grosso’s winner giving Canada a 3-2 decision. The ecstatic Canadian players ran down the field to mob Grosso and goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé in celebration of their first gold. In another milestone, Canadian midfielder Quinn became the first openly transgender and non-binary athlete to win an Olympic medal. Bonus: Sinclair, who leads all players with 187 career international goals, says it will not be the last time we see her wearing the Maple Leaf.
Is there a Canadian Olympic moment you can’t seem to forget? If you do, email us at audience@globeandmail.com and tell us why.