Team Canada Athletes ready for New and Returning Sports at Tokyo 2020
During the Olympic Games, the world tunes in as athletes show off what they have been training for their entire lives.
Some have experienced the Olympic Games before. But for others, Tokyo 2020 will be the first time their sport or discipline will be included at the Games. And then, there are other Canadian athletes who have had a long wait for their team to qualify for Olympic competition.
Letโs take a look at some of the Team Canada athletes to watch in those new or returning sports:
Softball
The sport made its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996 where Canada finished fifth. After appearances at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, Canada achieved its best ever result at Beijing 2008, finishing fourth after a semifinal loss to Australia.
That would be the last time softball would be an Olympic event for the next 12 years. Now, with the sport being re-introduced to the Games, Team Canada is ready to compete on the Olympic stage once again, bolstered by bronze medals at the 2016 and 2018 World Championships.
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In the mix to be named to the 2020 Olympic roster are a few veterans from the last Olympic team โ Lauren Bay-Regula, Danielle Lawrie, Kaleigh Rafter, and Jenn Salling โ who have either stuck around or came out of retirement to make a podium charge in Tokyo.
โI think it’s really important that we celebrate that it’s back. And in a country that absolutely loves the sport,โ Salling told Olympic.ca in December. โIt’s going to be an unreal experience for the sport. And it’s just going to be awesome. They love softball and baseball over there.โ
Baseball
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan, so itโs no surprise that the sport is making an Olympic comeback at Tokyo 2020. A demonstration sport as far back as Stockholm 1912, it became an official medal event at Barcelona 1992 and maintained that status until Beijing 2008.
Canada competed in the last two Olympic baseball tournaments, placing fourth at Athens 2004 and sixth in Beijing. While no current major league players are set to be on the roster, some familiar names who frequently step up to wear the maple leaf are Michael Saunders, Dalton Pompey, and Scott Richmond, who were at the WBSC Premier 12.
Womenโs Canoe
Tokyo 2020 will be the most gender balanced Olympic Summer Games ever. One change helping to achieve that is the introduction of womenโs canoe events. Until now, women could only compete in kayaking, but at the upcoming Games, men and women will have an equal number of events, including two canoe sprint events and one canoe slalom event.
Canada has already locked up a spot in the womenโs C-1 200m sprint event and qualification opportunities are still ahead for the C-2 500m sprint event and C-1 slalom event. Canada boasts two of the worldโs best women in canoe sprint in Laurence Vincent Lapointe and Katie Vincent.
โCanoeing is so Canadian already,โ Vincent told Olympic.ca. โAll those pioneers that did a lot of that advocating before I even picked up a paddle or knew what the sport was, was hugeโฆ Hopefully next year, we can be there as a strong Canadian team and if we can come back with a few medals, I think it’ll just be really awesome for sport and for the sport within Canada and the community around us.โ
Sport Climbing
Sean McColl and Alannah Yip have earned the right to represent Team Canada in sport climbingโs Olympic debut. The new Olympic sport will have one event for each gender, comprised of three disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing.
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As president of the International Federation of Sport Climbing Athletesโ Commission, McColl helped present the case for his sport to be included on the Olympic program, so he experienced a lot of feelings when that news was announced.
โI was super happy about [it] andโฆ it almost felt like a wave of nausea,โ McColl told Olympic.ca. โI did really feel like a lot of the work we had done was really paying offโฆ But all of a sudden, the sport that I had fallen in love with, I had now a chance to become an Olympian.โ
Skateboarding
If thereโs one skateboarder the world knows, itโs Tony Hawk. But, there are a few Canadians you should become familiar with before Tokyo 2020, where the sport will make its Olympic debut. ย Among the Team Canada hopefuls are Annie Guglia, Matt Berger, Adam Hopkins and Ryan Decenzo. The sport has come a long way since its creation when metal wheels were attached to a wooden board. In Tokyo, the sport will feature park and street events.
RELATED: Learn more about skateboardingโs park and street events
โThe Olympics was never on my radar,โ Berger told Olympic.ca. โFor competition events, itโs always been X Games and street leagueโฆ ย ย I just feel like it only makes senseโฆ the idea of me doing what I love to do on a world stage where I could potentially be bringing pride to my country, I mean, I couldnโt ask for a better situation really.โ
Karate
With the sportโs roots in Japan, it is only fitting that the centuries-old martial art would make its official Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
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One of Canadaโs top Olympic hopefuls is Haya Jumaa. who is currently ranked fifth in the World Karate Federation (WKF) Olympic qualification standings. She competed at the 2019 Pan Am Games, where karate has been included since 1995. โNow I have a bigger goal, which I was always dreaming of and I wanted to do it for karate,โ said Jumaa, who has also competed internationally in taekwondo. ย โI just focused on karate because, you know, I wanted to be at the top, not just like, top 10 or top five, I want to be like in the top number one ranked.โ
Surfing
The extreme water sport is set for its Olympic debut in Tokyo. It will feature shortboard competitions, which is the highest performance surfboard. The sport isnโt completely unfamiliar to Canadian athletes โ seven surfers competed for Canada at the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games, including Bethany Zelasko and Cody Young in shortboard.
โI was like, โoh my gosh, by 2020, I’ll be 20 years old. I can surf in the Olympicsโ,โ Zelasko told Olympic.ca of her reaction when she learned surfing would be included in Tokyo. โAnd I had so many people texting me and telling me that, you know, โyou’re going to be there one day, like you can do itโ.โ
3-on-3 Basketball
This action-packed sport is played on a smaller court with two fewer players than a traditional basketball game. With teams scoring on the same net, the 10-minute game is fast-paced. So, you wonโt want to blink because you may miss a shot.
RELATED: FAQ: What is 3×3 basketball?
The Canadian menโs team featuring Jordan Baker, Jordan Jensen-Whyte, Kyle Landry and Steve Sir, will be looking to punch their ticket to Tokyo at a qualifying tournament in May 2021.
Artistic Swimming (Team)
After only qualifying a duet for Rio 2016, Canada will have a full artistic swimming team at Tokyo 2020. Jacqueline Simoneau is the only member of the squad with Olympic experience, but that means a young team is ready to make their mark in Tokyo, having won gold at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima.
Canadaโs history in artistic swimming is a rich one, winning eight medals since the sportโs Olympic debut at Los Angeles 1984 when it was known as synchronized swimming.
Water polo (Women)
Itโs been a long time coming for Team Canada to have a womenโs water polo team at the Olympic Games. The last time that happened was at Athens 2004. A year later, Krystina Alogbo joined the national team and finally 16 years later sheโs anticipating her Olympic debut.
RELATED: Krystina Alogbo: Combatting racism and celebrating Pride while Olympic dream postponed
โIt was like this big dream that youโre in, youโre stuck and youโre not waking up kind of thing,โ Krystina Alogbo told Olympic.ca of when Team Canada qualified for Tokyo. โI just didnโt believe it, but yet, I saw that finally we attained that goal. Next goal is not just going to the Olympics, but itโs being Olympic champions.โ
