orangeman

Oh, Canada Should have qualified at the PanAm qualifications instead of taking Venezuela so lightly. Congratulations France.

Raonic!

With their best players, Canada could be a medal threat in Rio. Instead, they probably won't even qualify. We've got the talent, but we don't have the depth (or the dedication of that talent).

I like watching pretty much everything at the Olympics, but it's frustrating that there have been so few Canadians in the finals of swimming and athletic competitions because there's so many events. It's disappointing to watch hours and hours of races and never see a Canadian even in the semi-finals. Besides baseball/softball which are gone now, our teams have almost always been some of the weakest in their groups, rarely getting to the playoff round (the w's soccer team is an exception, but they still got outplayed on their way to bronze in 2012). But this year our w's rugby team is a favourite for a medal, while our w's basketball team should challenge for one as well. Our m's volleyball team is playing well even though they're in a very tough group in Rio and it'll be difficult to move on, and our m's basketball team should be competitive if they qualify, depending on who shows up. We even have a top-5 ranked w's beach volleyball team!

Yeah, 22 was the most ever by Canada at a non-boycotted SOG (we got 44 in 1984, and it's a shame that this one isn't really counted since it was one of Canada's strongest teams ever and they would have gotten a lot of medals without the boycott). In 2012 Canada was #14 in total medals with 18 (needed 20 for top-12) and we were #13 in 2008 with 19 (needed 24 for top-12). I think it's doable this year, but as always we will still lag behind in golds. Still, I believe there will be a lot more Canadians in finals in swimming and athletics this time around, and more of our teams should be competitive which should make everything more fun regardless of medals.

Canada's goal is to finish in the top-12 of total medals which would require about 22. This is always their goal at the SOG, and it's quite ambitious.

I don't know if I'd count Canada's men's eights. As far as I know, they disbanded the eights in order to concentrate on the smaller boats. They haven't even had an entry in the men's eights in the last 3 World Championships, and I haven't seen them enter one in any major competition in a couple of years (besides the Pan Ams in Toronto last year, but I'm sure that was just put together for the home Games).

It could be anywhere from 15-25 for Canada (though more likely 18-22). Very good shots: M's decathlon, high jump and pole vault; W's heptathlon; W's 8 rowing; W's synchro 3m and 10m diving; W's Team Pursuit Cycling (8) Good shots: W's rugby; M's 200m Kayak; M's 1500m swimming; M's 4x100m relay Athletics; W's trampoline; W's golf; M's Judo (7) Fair shots: W's 800m Athletics; M's 20k walk; M's 400m swimming; W's 400 IM; W's basketball; W's beach volleyball; M's 100m Athletics; M's 200m canoe; M's 1000m kayak; W's mountain bike; W's 3m and 10m diving (12) Anything can happen: Various rowing; various canoe/kayak; M's basketball (if they qualify and then field their best team); W's long jump; W's boxing; W's wrestling; M's BMX; various W's track cycling; Show Jumping; W's football; various W's gymnastics (i.e. Ellie Black on the beam); W's TKD; various swimming (i.e. relays); Tennis doubles/mixed doubles (0-?) I would expect 8/8 from group one, at least 5/7 from group 2, half of group three would be great, and some surprises from group 4 would be fantastic. The issue for Canada is that we have no real favourites for gold in any event. M's high jump and maybe W's trampoline are the closest, though (I put trampoline in group 2 because it is judged and apparently even when certain athletes from certain countries fall down they still get medals, so who knows what will happen).

Apparently Lochte had a groin injury (though it could be an after-race excuse). It's funny to see Phelps' 400 IM in London described as a disaster. He finished 4th, a third of a second off the podium. In Canada he would have received a parade for that performance . It must be really boring being American watching the Olympics, seeing your people win so many medals in everything must numb the excitement.

Wrestling Canada has officially named its team for Rio. Jasmine Mian, Barrie, Ont. (48 kg) Jillian Gallays, Saskatoon (53 kg) Michelle Fazzari, Caledonia, Ont. (58 kg) Danielle Lappage, Vancouver (63 kg) Dori Yeats, Montreal (69 kg) Erica Wiebe, Calgary (75 kg) Haislan Garcia, Surrey, B.C. (65 kg) Korey Jarvis, Elliot Lake, Ont. (125 kg) http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/rio2016/wrestling/wrestling-canada-olympic-roster-1.3646926

How sad Canadian rugby has become (on the men's side, anyway).

Well, I spoke too soon about Canada.

Canada has outscored Uruguay and Sri Lanka 90-0. I know those are weaker teams compared to Samoa and Ireland, but hopefully it's a sign they're taking this tournament very seriously. They've been on a downward trend for the last 2 seasons.

I think 15 is the bare minimum we should expect, with 20 the upper end. But if things work out well in some events and for some athletes, the record of 22 could be broken. The issue for Canada is that we don't have any real favourites for gold, except maybe trampoline just due to Rosie's 2012 gold. It just seems like for each star athlete we have there is always another one who is a bit better (Ryan Cochrane in the 1500m free is the best example of this over the last decade). Again, if things work out well we could see quite a few golds. If things don't work out we could easily be shut out of the top of the podium. But hey, at least Brooke Henderson is peaking at the right time so maybe she can pull something off in golf. I'm just happy that we seem to have a strong athletics team this year in various events (including both the decathlon and heptathlon) so finally all of that will be extra fun to watch. I also feel like we have a lot of teams going this year (fingers still crossed for the m's basketball and rugby teams). Anyone know how that stacks up to other years?