Canadians look to win 100-plus medals at Aussie Commonwealth Games

Canada will send 283 athletes to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, looking to mine 100-plus medals Down Under.

The Games, which run April 4 to 15, will draw more than 6,500 athletes and officials from some 70 countries and territories. Competition will cover 18 sports and seven para-sports, although Canada is not entered in netball.

Beach volleyball, para-triathlon and women’s rugby sevens make their Commonwealth Games debuts, sports that should boost the Canadian medal count.

Canada won 82 medals (32 gold, 16 silver, 34 bronze) at the 2014 games in Glasgow, finishing third in the medal standings behind England’s 174 (58-59-57) and Australia’s 137 (49-42-46).

The goal is to once again finish in the top three. Located some 80 kilometres southeast of Brisbane on Australia’s east side, the Gold Coast promises to be a spectacular setting. Fifty-two kilometres of sand and surf and 300 sunny days are hard to beat, especially after a gruelling Canadian winter.

“Stunningly beautiful,” said Canadian chef de mission Claire Carver-Dias, a two-time Commonwealth Games champion in synchronized swimming.

The sports will be contested in 18 venues on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, with preliminary basketball games in Townsville and Cairns. “The permanent venues are just in world-class shape,” Carver-Dias said. “Really, Australia does a top-notch job in making sure that everything’s ready on time and that it’s all up to the specifications of this class of competition.”

Carver-Dias points to the outdoor Gold Coast Aquatic Centre as a highlight. The rugby sevens venue of Robina Stadium is also impressive, says Canadian women’s sevens coach John Tait.

The temporary venues, like beach volleyball, also stand out “because the actual (beach) setting itself is so stunning,” said Carver-Dias

The Commonwealth Games traditionally have been a stepping stone to the Olympics.

Some 53 per cent of the 265 athletes who represented Canada four years ago in Glasgow went on to be part of the Rio Olympic team. Canada’s contingent in Australia includes a record 21 para-athletes, 10 Olympic medallists and 4 Paralympic medallists from Rio 2016. Marquee Canadians competing include Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe, quadruple Olympic medallist swimmer Penny Oleksiak, Paralympic swim champion Aurelie Rivard, Commonwealth Games champion decathlete Damian Warner, mountain biker Emily Batty and top beach volleyball pairs Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sam Schachter and Sam Pedlow. Diver Meaghan Benfeito, a threetime Olympic medallist and twotime Commonwealth Games champion, will carry the Canadian flag into the opening ceremonies at Carrara Stadium.

However, star sprinter Andre De Grasse won’t be there because of an injury.

Canada goes to the games, with an ulterior motive.

The hope is to bring the centennial 2030 Commonwealth Games back to Canada, site of the first British Empire Games in 1930 in Hamilton. Hamilton city council last year refused to even study the chance of hosting the 100th anniversary because of cost worries but it could change in years to come.