Closing ceremony: Paris closed out two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion with a boisterous, star-studded show in France’s national stadium, handing over hosting duties for the Summer Games to the next city in line: Los Angeles in 2028. At the Stade de France, hundreds of Canadian Olympians filed inside to take part in the final spectacle at the Paris Olympics. Swimmer Summer McIntosh and hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg carried the Canadian flag into the stadium together as the closing ceremony began.
COC: The Canadian Olympic Committee is celebrating the country’s record-breaking performance despite scandals looming over including the soccer drone-spying and accrediting U.S.-based coach Rana Reider who faces sexual assault allegations. COC chief executive David Shoemaker says “We come away from Games always taking a look at what went right and what went wrong, and we’ll certainly revisit this situation and others to understand if there’s something that we need to change.”
Marathon: Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan took gold in the women’s marathon with an Olympic record of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds. Malindi Elmore representing Team Canada finished at 35th place. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Elmore finished ninth, Canada’s second-best result ever in the women’s marathon.
In case you missed it: Canadian break-dancer Phil Wizard was crowned breakdancing’s first Olympic gold champion after Saturday’s competition. He and Japan’s Ami Yuasa may be the first and only Olympic champions for the men’s and women’s event as organizer for the 2028 Los Angeles Games say they do not plan to include the event.
Volleyball: Italy took gold in women’s volleyball against USA after three successful sets with scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-17.
Basketball: Team USA’s women take gold for the eighth consecutive time after a neck and neck game against host country France, finishing with a score of 67-66. Australia wins bronze in women’s basketball after defeating Belgium with a close score of 85-81.
Cycling: American Jennifer Valente, now a two-time Olympic champion and reigning world champion in the cycling omnium, captured gold with 144 points. Canada’s Maggie Coles-Lyster placed ninth.
Wrapping up: All things come to an end and the Paris Olympics are no exception. Summer McIntosh and Ethan Katzberg were Canada’s flagbearers at the closing ceremony, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose city will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, received the Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.