Olympic medal hopes: Which Canadians are most likely to win big in Rio.
THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS SET A GOAL FOR RIO OF 19 MEDALS AND A TOP-12 FINISH IN THE OVERALL STANDINGS. AT POSTMEDIA, WE’RE PREDICTING 21 MEDALS. HERE ARE OUR PICKS:
GOLD (2)
BRIANNE THEISEN- EATON, HEPTATHLON Hometown: Humboldt, Sask.
Competition date: Aug. 12-13 In brief: She’s ranked No. 1 in the world in the event and is coming off a gold- medal performance at the 2016 world indoor championships, where heptathlon is replaced by the pentathlon. She won silver at the 2015 and 2013 world championships. MARK DE JONGE, KAYAK, K1- 200M Hometown: Halifax
Competition date: Aug. 19- 20 In brief: He won the second of two consecutive world titles in 2015, becoming the first man to go back- to- back in the event since 2003. He won bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and holds the world record of 33.818.
SILVER (8)
JENNIFER ABEL/ PAMELA WARE, DIVING, 3M SYNCHRO Hometown: Laval, Que.
Competition date: Aug. 7 In brief: Ranked No. 2 in the world, they teamed to win silver at the 2015 world championships after winning bronze in 2013 and have multiple World Cup podiums to their credit. Abel won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London with Emilie Heymans. WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVENS
Competition date: Aug. 6- 8 In brief: New Zealand is favoured and will be tough to beat, but the Canadian women have an excellent shot at making the podium. They finished second at the 2013 World Cup ( falling 29-12 to New Zealand in the final) and have finished second ( 2014-15) or third ( 2015-16, 2013-14, 2012-13) in the past four Sevens Series. Canada’s Ghislaine Landry was the top scorer this past season. ROSELINE FILION/ MEAGHAN BENFEITO, DIVING, 10M SYNCHRO Hometown: Laval, Que. Competition date: Aug. 9
In brief: The defending Olympic bronze medallists, they won silver at the 2013 and 2015 world championships and gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Individually, they shared the podium in the 10- metre event at the Pan Am Games, with Filion winning silver and Benfeito taking bronze. ROSIE MACLENNAN, TRAMPOLINE Hometown: King City, Ont.
Competition date: Aug. 12 In brief: Canada’s only gold medallist in London, MacLennan made the world championship podium five straight times before finishing fourth in November while battling concussion symptoms that caused dizziness while in the air. She says she is fully recovered and ready to defend her title. She won gold at a World Cup in Switzerland in June, posting the second best score of her career in the final. WOMEN’S TEAM, TRACK CYCLING
Competition date: Aug. 11, 13 In brief: Canada won bronze in this event at the London Olympics, with Tara Whitten, Jasmin Glaesser and Gillian Carleton securing the country’s only cycling medal of the Games. Glaesser, who lives in Vancouver, will be back for Rio, where Canada will be ranked No. 2 behind Great Britain. Canada won silver at the 2016 world championships — behind the U.S. — after beating the U.S. to win gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games. The team also includes Allison Beveridge of Calgary, Laura Brown of Vancouver, Kirsti Lay of Montreal, and Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver. SHAWN BARBER, POLE VAULT Hometown: Toronto
Competition date: Aug. 13, 15 In brief: The NCAA and Canadian record holder, Barber is the reigning world champion. When he won gold in 2015, he became the first Canadian to win an athletics world title in anything other than a sprint event. He’s currently ranked No. 2 in the world. DEREK DROUIN, HIGH JUMP Hometown: Sarnia, Ont.
Competition date: Aug. 14, 16 In brief: The lone Canadian to reach the athletics podium in London, Drouin finished in a three-way tie for third, giving Canada its first Olympic high jump medal since Greg Joy won silver in Montreal in 1976. Ranked No. 5 in the world, he won gold at the 2015 world championships after winning bronze in 2013. DAMIAN WARNER, DECATHLON Hometown: London, Ont.
Competition date: Aug. 17-19 In brief: After a surprising fifth- place finish in his Olympic debut in London — where he beat his personal best by more than 300 points — Warner went on to win bronze at the 2013 world championships. Last year, he won silver, behind only American world record holder Ashton Eaton. He’s ranked No. 2 in the world behind Eaton. BROOKE HENDERSON, GOLF Hometown: Smiths Falls, Ont.
Competition date: Aug. 17- 20 In brief: Postmedia’s female athlete of the year for 2015, Henderson is a threat to win every time she hits the course. Ranked No. 2 in the world — and still just 18 — she already has three wins on the LPGA Tour, including her first major, the Women’s PGA Championship, in June.
BRONZE (10)
ANTOINE VALOISFORTIER, JUDO, 81 KG Hometown: Quebec City Competition date: Aug. 9 In brief: Valois- Fortier was ranked 27th in the world heading into the 2012 Olympic Games and he left London with a bronze medal. Since 2012, he’s won two world championship medals, taking silver in 2014 and bronze in 2015, and is ranked third in the world in his weight class. LINDSAY JENNERICH/ PATRICIA OBEE, ROWING, LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE SCULLS Hometown: Victoria
Competition date: Aug. 7-11 In brief: Two- time silver medallists at the world championship ( 2011, 2014), Jennerich and Obee just missed the podium in 2015, finishing fourth. They’ve had promising results this year, winning gold at the second World Cup stop in Lucerne. BENJAMIN THORNE, RACE WALKING, 20 KM Hometown: Kitimat, B.C.
Competition date: Aug. 12 In brief: Part of a group of Canadians enjoying unprecedented success in the sport, Thorne won bronze at the 2015 world championships in Beijing. With teammates Inaki Gomez, Evan Dunfee and Mathieu Bilodeau, he won silver at the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships in Rome, giving Canada its first- ever medal at the event. Thorne heads to Rio ranked No. 3 in the world. RYAN COCHRANE, SWIMMING, 1,500- METRE FREESTYLE Hometown: Victoria
Competition date: Aug. 13 In brief: With eight world championship medals, Cochrane is the most- decorated swimmer in Canadian history. He has twice reached the Olympic podium in the 1,500- metre freestyle event, winning silver in 2012 and bronze in 2008. He won silver at the 2013 world championships and bronze in 2015. JENNIFER ABEL, DIVING, 3M SPRINGBOARD Hometown: Laval, Que. Competition date: Aug. 12-14 In brief: These will be the third Olympics for Abel, who made her debut in Beijing as a 16-year- old. She won a bronze in 3- metre synchro with Emilie Heymans in London, and will be competing in synchro (with Pamela Ware) and individually in Rio. She won gold in the event at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2011 world championships, and is currently ranked third in the world. MEN’S FOURS, ROWING Athletes/ hometown: Will Crothers, Kingston, Ont.; Kai Langerfield, North Vancouver; Conlin McCabe, Brockville, Ont.; Tim Schrijver, Thedford, Ont. Competition date: Aug. 7, 10, 12
In brief: Canada’s men’s eights crew won silver in London after taking gold in Beijing. Despite that success, Rowing Canada made the decision to focus on heavyweight fours and quadruple sculls rather than eights moving forward — doubling their shot at a medal — and of those two boats, this one is most likely to reach the podium. They were fifth at the 2014 world championships and fourth last year, when they also won gold at the Pan Am Games. ERICA WIEBE, WRESTLING, 75 KG
Hometown: Stittsville, Ont.; Calgary
Competition date: Aug. 18 In brief: The last time Canadian women failed to reach the Olympic podium in wrestling was in Sydney in 2000. Wiebe — ranked No. 2 in the world in her weight class — may be Canada’s best bet to keep that streak going. The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Wiebe has stood atop multiple international podiums ( putting together a 36- match unbeaten streak in 2014). While she hasn’t competed at an Olympics, she attended the 2012 Games as a training partner for Leah Callahan to get used to the atmosphere. MEN’S 4X100- METRE RELAY TEAM, ATHLETICS
Competition date: Aug. 18-19 In brief: For the first time since the late 1990s, Canada boasts two male sprinters who have broken the 10- second barrier — Andre de Grasse of Scarborough, Ont. and Aaron Brown of Toronto — which means this team can compete with the best in the world. They won bronze at the 2015 world championships in Beijing. Also on the team: Mobolade Ajomale, Richmond Hill, Ont.; Akeem Haynes, Calgary; Makinde Oluwasegun, Ottawa; Brendon Rodney, Brampton. MELISSA BISHOP, ATHLETICS, 800 METRES
Hometown: Eganville, Ont. Competition date: Aug. 17, 18, 20
In brief: Despite missing the 2015 indoor season with a torn abdominal muscle, Bishop won gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto later that year and then won silver at the world championships, in a Canadianrecord time of 1: 57.52. She was named Athletics Canada’s track athlete of the year in April. She’s currently ranked fourth in the world. EMILY BATTY, CYCLING, MOUNTAIN BIKE Hometown: Brooklin, Ont.
Competition date: Aug. 20 In brief: Canada has two legitimate medal shots in this event, with Batty and two- time world champion Catharine Pendrel. Batty is ranked ninth in the world to Pendrel’s No. 7, but Batty gets our pick to make the podium given her good performances at the world championships recently.