DAY SIXTEEN RECAP- AUGUST 8, 2021
Tokyo Summer Olympics wrap up
While no Saskatchewan athletes competed on Day 16, the final day of the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, Canada added one more medal to its total as track cyclist Kelsey Mitchell claimed gold in the women’s sprint.
The medal brought Canada’s total haul to 24 (seven gold, six silver and 11 bronze), the highest total since the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Games where Canada won 44 medals.
The Closing Ceremony also took place on the final day with decathlete gold medallist and Olympic record setter Damian Warner having the honour of being Canada’s flag bearer.
Saskatchewan was represented at the Games by seven athletes, three coaches, two support staff and one official.
Jenny Gilbert picked up the lone medal for the group, winning bronze with the women’s softball team.
Read more on cheeronsask.ca.
Canadian artistic swimming team finishes sixth
After earning 91.4992 points in the technical routine on Day 14, the Canadian artistic swimming team picked up a score of 92.5333 points in Day 15’s free routine to give them a two-day total of 184.0325, good enough for a sixth-place finish.
Regina’s Kenzie Priddell attended the Games as an alternate for the team but did not compete with the team in either routine.
Read more on cheeronsask.ca.
Wiens earns reserve spot
Pike Lake diver Rylan Wiens made his Olympic debut on Day 14 competing in the men’s 10-metre platform event finishing just out of automatic qualification in 19th place with 366.70 points.
The top 18 divers automatically advanced to Day 15’s semifinal. As the holder of the first reserve spot, there’s still potential for Wiens to compete in the semis if one of the original 18 qualifiers drops out.
Canadian artistic swimming team finishes technical routine in fifth
With 91.4992 points in the Technical Routine, the Canadian artistic swimming team is sitting in fifth place ahead of the Free Routine scheduled for Day 15.
Regina’s Kenzie Pridell is an alternate for the Canadian team.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Newell has rough day in pole vault final
Pole vaulter Anicka Newell, who calls Saskatoon her hometown, had a rough day on the field after tying for first place in qualification rounds.
The two-time Olympian missed clearing all three attempts at 4.50-metres to be eliminated from the competition.
Women’s soccer gold medal match moved
After concerns from the Canadian and Swedish women’s soccer teams related to heat, the gold medal match has been moved to 6 a.m. (SK time) on Day 15. The Canadian team includes Janine Beckie, whose parents have ties to Saskatchewan.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Saskatchewan athletes set to compete in final days
No Saskatchewan athletes competed on Day 12 of the Olympics in Tokyo, but the final athletes of the Saskatchewan contingent are prepping for their upcoming competitions.
Pole vaulter Anicka Newell, who calls Saskatoon her hometown, will be going for gold on Day 13. She advanced to finals after tying for first place in the qualification rounds.
On Day 14, Pike Lake diver Rylan Wiens will make his Olympic competition debut with the men’s 10-metre platform preliminary event. If he advances, both the semifinals and finals will take place on Day 15.
Wiens has been in Tokyo since Day 1 of the Games and was one of 30 athletes who took part in the Opening Ceremony. He’ll be joined in competition by Saskatoon coach Mary Carroll, who competed for Canada in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
The Canadian women’s artistic swimming team will get their first taste of action on Day 14 as they begin competition with the Team Technical Routine and will wrap up with the Team Free Routine on Day 15. Regina’s Kenzie Priddell is part of the team as an alternate.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
No Saskatchewan athletes in action on Day 11
The majority of Saskatchewan’s Olympic contingent wrapped up their Games experience in the first 10 days of action in Tokyo, but there’s still more to look forward to.
Diver Rylan Wiens, pole vaulter Anicka Newell and the Canadian artistic swimming team will compete in the coming days.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Newell advances to pole vault final
Tying for first place in the qualification round with a jump of 4.55-metres, Anicka Newell, who calls Saskatoon her hometown, has advanced to the women’s pole vault finals.
Newell is currently ranked 28th in the world and has a personal best jump of 4.70m.
Canada’s playoff hopes dashed in women’s basketball
A 96-69 victory by Australia over Puerto Rico spelled the end of the Olympic journey in Tokyo for the Canadian women’s basketball and Saskatchewan-based head coach Lisa Thomaidis.
Canada finished third in their group and needed the Australians to win by less than 24 to advance to the quarter-finals as one of the top two third-ranked teams. The 27-point victory by Australia eliminated that possibility.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Canadian women’s basketball in wait and see mode
The Canadian women’s basketball team – headed by Saskatchewan-based coach Lisa Thomaidis – dropped its final game of pool play 76-66 to Spain on Day 9 to finish 1-2.
Canada will now wait and see if they advance to the quarter-final round. In the Olympic tournament, teams that place first and second in each group and the two best third-placed teams in group play qualify for the playoff rounds. A variety of scenarios involving the remaining games could determine whether Canada advances.
“Certainly not the outcome we were looking for and now we’ll have to sit back and wait,” said Thomaidis in a Canada Basketball release. “We wanted to take matters into our own hands. We won two of four quarters [against Spain] and unfortunately we just dug ourselves into too big of a hole to get out of.”
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Thibeault drops boxing quarter-final
Tammara Thibeault’s medal hopes came to an end after losing in a unanimous decision after a close fight in the women’s middleweight quarter-final to the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn on Day 8 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Thibeault won the first round before Fontijn, the reigning Olympic silver medallist and three-time silver medallist at the world championships, came from behind to earn four scores of 29-28 and one of 30-27.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Lisa Borgerson’s athlete finishes 42nd
Competition wrapped up for Rockglen coach Lisa Borgerson at the Olympics as her athlete Lynda Kiejko —Canada’s lone shooting athlete—finished the women’s 25-metre air pistol qualifier round in 42nd place.
Kiejko’s 283 points earned in Day 7’s Rapid round were added to her 281 points in Day 6’s Precision round for a grand total of 564.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Canada gets in women’s basketball win column
Canada’s senior women’s national basketball team – led by Saskatchewan-based head coach Lisa Thomaidis – improved to 1-1 at the Tokyo Olympic Games after cruising past the Republic of Korea 74-53 on Day 6 of competition.
The red and white used a balanced attack with three players in double digit scoring and nine players on the scoreboard. Bridget Carleton led the Canadians in scoring with 18-points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block shot, while Nathalie Achonwa recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also added a team-high five assists.
Wog competes in semifinal
Swimmer Kelsey Wog competed in the 200-metre breaststroke semifinal. The Regina-born athlete did not advance.
Borgerson’s athlete competes in 25-metre air pistol qualifications
Rockglen coach Lisa Borgerson and Canada’s lone shooting athlete Lynda Kiejko competed in the 25-metre air pistol precision qualifications. Kiejko is 41st after an average scored of 9.367 in precision. Qualification continues on Day 7 with rapid qualifications.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Thibeault advances to quarter-finals with split decision victory
Tammara Thibeault is heading to the quarter-finals after defeating Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Ryabets by 4-1 split decision on Day 5 of the Olympics in Tokyo.
Thibeault, who is competing in the 75-kilogram middleweight division, used her reach to her advantage, keeping her opponent at a distance for the majority of the bout and hitting Ryabets with power punches when she did make it inside.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Canadian softball team wins bronze, makes history
A 3-2 victory over Mexico on Day 4 earned the Canadian softball team, including Saskatoon’s Jenny Gilbert, a bronze medal — the country’s first in the sport at the Olympics.
Emma Entzminger got Canada on the board in the second inning, scoring a pair of RBIs to give the red and white a 2-0 lead. Mexico then added a single in the third inning to cut the lead to one.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Canada and Mexico each picked up a single in the fifth to make the score 3-2. That score carried through to the seventh inning, where three quick outs —one ground out and two strikeouts— secured the victory for the Canadians.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca.
Canada finishes softball round robin with 8-1 victory over Italy
Saskatoon’s Jenny Gilbert got Canada on the board first with a solo home run in the second inning in the team’s final round robin game.
Canada finished the round robin in third place with a 3-2 record, only losing to the United States and Japan.
Canada will face Mexico for bronze on Monday night at 10 p.m. (SK time), which can be streamed live on CBC Gem or watched on Sportsnet/Sportsnet One. Bad weather in Japan may force the game to be rescheduled.
Canadian women’s basketball team loses opener to Serbia 72-68
It was a narrow loss for the Canadian women’s basketball team and Saskatchewan-based head coach Lisa Thomaidis, as they were defeated 72-68 by Serbia in their first game of round robin action.
The Canadians battled back to tie the game 45-45 after three quarters, but were outscored by the Serbs 27-23 in the fourth quarter.
Canada will next face the Republic of Korea on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. (SK time).
Read more at cheeronsask.ca
Canadian softball suffers extra inning heartbreaking loss to Japan
Japan scored the game’s lone run with an extra inning walk off single in the bottom of the eighth to dash Canada’s hopes of playing in the gold medal match Saturday.
The red and white drops to 2-2 with the loss, while the No. 2 ranked Japan moves to 4-0 to equal the top ranked USA. Despite the loss, Canada clinched a spot in the bronze medal game ahead of its final round robin game against Italy at 11:30 p.m. (SK time) Sunday. Canada’s opponent is yet to be determined. The US and Japan will play for gold.
Pratt competes in heats
Swimmer Cole Pratt competed in one of six heats for the 100-metre men’s backstroke event. The Regina-born athlete finished seventh in the heat in a time of 54.27 and did not qualify for the semifinal of the event.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca
Canadian softball team triumphs over Australia, improves to 2-1
Australia scored a single run in the top of the first inning, but it was the only time they made their way back successfully to home plate as Canada won Friday’s softball game 7-1.
The red and white put their bats to good use in the bottom of the first inning, picking up three runs, to take an early 3-1 lead. They followed that up with another three runs in the second inning to increase their lead to 6-1.
Saskatoon outfielder Jenny Gilbert had two put outs in the game.
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Wiens walks in Opening Ceremony
Saskatchewan diver Rylan Wiens was one of 30 Canadian athletes to march in the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Wiens, from Pike Lake, will compete in the 10-metre platform event starting Aug. 6. At the opening ceremony, he joined Canadian flag bearers Miranda Ayim from women’s basketball and Nathan Hirayma, co-captain of the men’s rugby seven’s team, as well as athletes from badminton, canoe slalom, BMX, fencing, shooting, skateboarding, tennis and weightlifting. Six mission staff members also marched in the ceremony.
Read more at cheeronsask.ca
Gilbert and Canadian softball team split first two games
Softball made its return to the Olympics on Wednesday and Team Canada, including Saskatoon outfielder and pitcher Jenny Gilbert, celebrated the occasion with a 4-0 win over Mexico in their first round robin game.
A pair of RBIs in the first inning gave the red and white an early 2-0 lead. Single RBIs in the third and fourth innings increased Canada’s lead to four, where it would remain for the rest of the game.
Read more on cheeronsask.ca