The 2024 Paris Olympics are underway, and with so much action commencing in just a few days, Quarter to Five highlights the five must-watch events as Canadians take to the world stage with their sights set on gold.

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Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team

The Canadian women touch down in Paris looking to repeat as gold medalists after defeating Sweden at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Missing from the 2024 squad is Burnaby, B.C., native Christine Sinclair, who announced her retirement from international play after spending nearly two decades with CanWNT.

"After Tokyo, deep down inside, I knew I didn't want to play in Paris," Sinclair told The Canadian Press in October of 2023 on the 2024 Olympics. "The way the Tokyo Olympics ended, you can't beat it."

Sinclair is currently the world's all-time leading scorer with 190 goals in her 327 senior appearances. At the time of her retirement, Sinclair's 331 international caps were second-most of all-time, behind only American Kristine Lilly (354).

 

Canada Men's Basketball Team

Team Canada is back at the Olympics for the first time since 2000 after defeating Spain in the quarterfinal of the World Cup in September. The Canadian men are led by Oklahoma City Thunder star and native Ontarian Shai Gilgeous- Alexander. The 26-year-old earned his second straight All-Star nod and finished second in the NBA MVP race averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game.

Team Canada also features other big names in the sport from Kitchener, Ont., native and NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets Jamal Murray, to Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks, Toronto Raptors' RJ Barrett and many more.

Canada was drawn into Group A and will face Greece in their first game on July 27.

Canada has been represented at the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament nine times (1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1976, 1984, 1988, 2000), with their only medal - a silver - coming on their debut in 1936 after a loss to the United States.

 

Swimming

Finishing just shy of the podium in her Olympic debut as a 14-year-old in Tokyo, Summer McIntosh looks to capture hardware in Paris.

The Toronto, Ont., native was the youngest athlete of all Team Canada at Tokyo 2020. She finished fourth individually in the 400m freestyle, was the leadoff swimmer for the 4x200m freestyle relay, and competed in the 800m freestyle.

McIntosh will compete in the 400m freestyle this year alongside Mary-Sophie Harvey and will also compete in the 200m butterfly, the 200m and the 400m individual medley.

 

Golf

Four Canadians are headed to Paris to go up against the world's best in stroke play.

Corey Conners and Nick Taylor tee it up for the men, while Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp hit the course for the women.

Listowel's Conners has a pair of PGA TOUR wins and 26 top 10 finishes. Conners made his Olympic debut in 2020, finishing tied for 13th place.Taylor, who hails from Winnipeg, is making his Olympic debut and has four wins on tour - including the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.

One of the most decorated Canadian golfers, Henderson has 13 career wins on the LPGA Tour and 79 finishes in the top 10. Henderson represented Canada in 2016 in Rio, finishing tied for seventh place and finished tied for 29th in Tokyo.

Hamilton's Sharp has 16 top-10 finishes on tour and finished 30th at the 2016 Olympics and 49th in 2020.

 

Canada's 4x100M relay team

After punching their ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics at the World Athletics Relays, Canada's 4x100 relay team comprised of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, and Andre De Grasse aim for the podium again.

The quartet initially won bronze with a time of 37.70 but was upgraded to silver following the suspension of Great Britain.

Individually, De Grasse won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 100m, and silver in the 200m.

The Markham, Ont., native followed up with gold four years later in Tokyo, winning the 200m. He also took home silver in the 100m.