10 athletes who could win medals in 2020
Andre De Grasse and Penny Oleksiak became the faces of Canada’s Olympic team, despite their youth and inexperience. De Grasse, who at 21 won three sprinting medals in Rio, is heading back to the University of Southern California to finish his sociology degree. Oleksiak, the 16-year-old who stormed to the podium four times in the pool, is entering Grade 11 and lobbying her parents for driving lessons. But the youth movement goes much deeper than Canada’s two newest superstars. Here are 10 lesser-known athletes with podium potential to watch for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, write Rob Longley, Ted Wyman and Vicki Hall. BRENDON RODNEY Sport: Athletics 200 metres/4x100 relay Age: 24 Hometown: Brampton, Ont. Rio result: Bronze in the 4x100 relay; 21st in the 200 metres
The forecast: Rodney introduced himself to Canada in July at the Olympic trials, where he beat both Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown in the 200 metres in a blistering 19.97 seconds. He and De Grasse are the only two Canadians to ever break the 20-second barrier at that distance. The ebullient Rodney dedicated that race to his mom, who nearly died in the spring from a brain aneurysm. Rodney just missed out on qualifying for the 200-metre semifinal in Rio. If he can stay healthy, another shot looms in Tokyo.
MO AHMED Sport: Athletics 5,000/10,000 metres Age: 25
Hometown: St. Catharines, Ont. Rio result: Fourth in the 5,000 metres; 32nd in the 10,000
The forecast: No one is saying the Canadian Mo is the next Mo Farah. Still, the rising star shocked a lot of people in Rio by finishing fourth in Saturday’s 5,000-metre final. The soft-spoken distance runner was in the hunt for bronze until he faded over the final 400 metres and fell apart in the final 120. “The podium was right there,” he said. “I could taste it.” Athletics Canada hopes he might do just that in 2020. DORI YEATS Sport: Freestyle wrestling (69 kilograms) Age: 23 Hometown: Montreal Rio result: Fourth The forecast: Yeats has wrestling in her blood as the daughter of five-time Olympian Doug Yeats. Her fourth-place finish in Rio came as a surprise, given she wasn’t expected to peak until the Tokyo Games. In fact, she just missed out on a bronze medal in Rio after forcing Sweden’s Jenny Fransson, a 2012 world champion, out of the ring two seconds too late. Qualifying for the Olympic team is tough for Canada’s female wrestlers given the depth of field. Should she prevail, Yeats is an early candidate to upgrade that fourth-place finish to a podium performance in 2020. ELEANOR HARVEY Sport: fencing (individual foil) Age: 21 Hometown: Hamilton, Ont. Rio result: Seventh
The forecast: Harvey lost the Olympic quarter-final 15-13 to Tunisia’s Ines Boubakri, but she announced her arrival on the Olympic stage by earlier defeating gold-medal favourite Arianna Errigo of Italy. “She’s one of my idols,” Harvey said. “She’s one of my favourite fencers to watch. Her fencing is so exciting. She’s such a boss.” Harvey is expected to be the boss four years from now in Tokyo. TYLER MISLAWCHUK Sport: Triathlon Age: 22 Hometown: Oak Bluff, Man. Rio result: 15th in men’s triathlon
The forecast: At 21 (he turned 22 on Friday), Mislawchuk was the youngest competitor in the men’s triathlon in Rio and he finished a solid 15th out of 55. Triathlon is generally considered a late-peak sport, with most of the competitors at the Olympics in their late 20s. That bodes well for Mislawchuk, who was ranked eighth in the world coming into the Olympics and has a chance to be an even stronger contender in 2020 in Tokyo.
LEAH KIRCHMANN Sport: Road cycling Age: 26 Hometown: Winnipeg Rio result: 38th in women’s road race
The forecast: Kirchmann is 26 but she’s still an up-and-comer in her sport and Cycling Canada high performance director Jacques Landry pointed to her as one to watch in Tokyo after she gained her first Olympic experience in Rio. Kirchmann had a tremendous year with her pro cycling team — Liv Plantur out of the Netherlands — and that earned her trip to Rio, where she finished 38th out of 68 riders. She should rise in the world rankings over the next quadrennial and look to make some noise in Tokyo.
BROOKE HENDERSON Sport: Golf Age: 18
Hometown: Smiths Falls, Ont. Rio result: Tied for seventh
The forecast: Henderson contended for a medal in Rio and she hasn’t even reached her 19th birthday. Already a major winner on the LPGA Tour, Henderson’s best years are ahead of her and there’s no reason to think she can’t challenge for a gold medal in the women’s golf tournament in Tokyo. She has all the shots, but her putter let her down at some key moments in Rio. Even so, she finished just two strokes back of the podium. SANTO CONDORELLI Sport: Swimming; 50-, 100-metre freestyle, 100-metre butterfly Age: 21 Hometown: Kenora, Ont. Rio result: 4th in 100 freestyle, DNQ for 50 freestyle and 100 fly The forecast: An All-American at USC, Condorelli came to Rio with high expectations and was considered a medal contender in the sprint freestyle races. In the 100 final, he touched the wall first after 50 metres, then ran out of steam coming for home. Condorelli will look to build on that over the next four years.
CARLING ZEEMAN Age: 25 Hometown: Hamilton, Ont. Sport: Rowing Rio result: 10th women’s single sculls.
The forecast: One of the most exciting single scullers Canada has seen since the days of Marnie McBean and Silken Laumann, Zeeman is still raw in talent, but full of promise. She first gained the attention of Rowing Canada for her off-the-charts scores on indoor rowing machines. Her work-in-progress technique may have hindered Zeeman in Rio, given the rough waters on Lagoa. She’s pegged as a strong contender for Tokyo 2020 based on success she’s already had on the World Cup circuit.
TAYLOR RUCK Age: 16 Hometown: Kelowna, B.C. Sport: Swimming Rio result: Bronze 4x100 freestyle relay, bronze 4x200 freestyle relay
The forecast: If it’s possible for a 16-year-old to win two medals in her first Olympic Games and still fly under the radar, that’s the case with Ruck. Overshadowed by four-time medallist Penny Oleksiak, Ruck was a big part of the two relay medals and showed promise in individual events, as well. With Oleksiak and Ruck pushing each other, the future is bright for both. Like Oleksiak, Ruck won six medals at the 2015 world junior championship, setting a pair of records.