Canada's Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes celebrate after defeating the Netherlands Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon in beach volleyball action at the Tokyo Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Latest Olympic updates
OLYMPIC EVENTS FOR JULY 23
- Beach volleyball: Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan beat Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands 2-0 on the first day of beach volleyball at the Olympics. The pair have played together for five years and qualified for the Olympics thanks to their 2019 World Championships win. Their next game is on Monday against Germany.
- Tennis: Canadian left-hander Leylah Fernandez won her opening match against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, putting her through to the second round.
- Cycling: The men’s road race is underway on the Fuji International Speedway. Canada’s Michael Woods is in the race, which features is 234 kilometres of incredible scenery, including Japan’s Mount Fuji, which, pending good conditions, will be visible from the track.
- Softball: Canada’s women’s softball team beat Australia 7-1 in its third game of the Olympics. The team beat Mexico on Wednesday and lost to the United States yesterday. The team will play two more games ahead of the bronze- and gold-medal games on July 27.
- Shooting: The first gold medal of the Olympics went to China’s Yang Qian in the women’s 10-meter rifle competition. A weak last shot from the silver medal winner Anastasiia Galashina helped Yang come out on top. In total, 339 medals will be awarded across 33 sports during the Games.
OFF THE FIELD
- COVID-19: The very first match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament has been cancelled because a Czech player tested positive for COVID-19. Markéta Sluková tested positive earlier this week, knocking her and partner Barbora Hermannova out of the Tokyo Games and giving the Japanese pair of Megumi Murakami and Miki Ishii a victory by default. And another confirmed positive case brings the Olympic-related case count to 123.
- Opening ceremony: The Tokyo Olympics kicked off yesterday, with a muted opening ceremony of fewer than a thousand people as Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron. Across Tokyo, Japanese people reacted to the festivities with either indifference or sporadic anti-Olympic protests that could be heard from inside the main stadium.
- Advertising: It’s mostly business as usual for Canadian advertisers who will be promoting their brands as planned despite growing fears the Games could become a superspreader event as more athletes test positive for COVID-19.
- Rugby: It’s been a tough year for the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team. The off-field upheaval of a new coach and a bout of COVID-19 cases challenged the team, but the players say they’re better off for it.
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Olympic highlights for July 23
Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in photos
Skateboarding makes its Olympic debut in an attempt to attract younger Olympic audiences
Canada’s Micky Papa reflects on the stark difference between his days getting shooed out of the garage or away from the curbs and handrails by security guards and being one of the first skateboarders to compete at the Olympics. Papa and 27-year-old Matt Berger from Kamloops will compete on Sunday in the street skateboarding event, demonstrating tricks on a large course with handrails, banks and ledges.
Inside Canadian Kylie Masse’s uncommon training for Tokyo Olympics
Canadian Olympic swimmer Kylie Masse turned to unorthodox methods to keep up her training in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once it was warm enough to open the backyard pool at her parents’ home in LaSalle, Ont., the two-time world champion tied a tether to the fence so she could swim in place every day for a span of weeks.
Tokyo Olympic events to watch tomorrow, July 24
- Basketball: The first round-robin matches of a new Olympic sport, 3x3 basketball, start Saturday and continue until the men’s and women’s medal games on Wednesday.
- Swimming: Watch Penny Oleksiak and her teammates compete in the women’s 4x100m relay heats at at 8:15 a.m. ET, and catch the final at 10:45 p.m. ET.
- Skateboarding: Men’s skateboarding makes its Olympic debut on Saturday evening.
- Diving: Divers Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Belieu compete in the 3-metre springboard event at 2 a.m. ET.
- Soccer: Canada’s women’s soccer team, helmed by Captain Christine Sinclair faces Chile in its second match of the Games.
- Archery: Mixed teams compete for medals Saturday, and the men’s and women’s teams get their turn on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Men and women’s individual competitions are the following Friday and Saturday.
Check the full Olympic schedule for the latest event times and competitors.
The Tokyo Olympics: Essential reads
Read the behind-the-scene moments from reporters on the ground.
What athletes should Canadians look out for at the Games? Consult our guide of the stars and teams to watch.
How did Canada’s swimmers use data to go faster and stronger? Grant Robertson and Timothy Moore explain.
“But you can’t help but notice that the only people you’re hearing from and seeing are in the employ of Tokyo 2020. Everyone else is AWOL. The streets are empty. The atmosphere is non-existent. Athens, simply by being Athens, is more Olympic right now than Tokyo.” - Cathal Kelly