Rugby silver extends Canada's medal streak to four days at Paris Olympics

PARIS — A spirited silver medal from the women's rugby sevens team kept Canada's medal streak alive Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.

Canada battled to a hard-fought 19-12 loss to defending champion New Zealand in the sevens final in Paris to earn Canada's sixth medal of the Games.

The plucky Canadians seemed poised to shock the rugby juggernauts when they took a 12-7 lead at the break with two late first-half tries.

Chloe Daniels had a try and conversion to tie the game 7-7, then with time running out in the half Alysha Corrigan stole the ball and found a gap to run it in for a stunning Canadian lead.

But New Zealand responded in the second half with tries from Michaela Blyde and Stacey Waaka and a conversion from Tyla King to defend its title.

“It’s a whole range of human emotions. There is a disappointment, there is pride, there is sadness, there is love for my team. Everything I can possibly feel, I feel it right now," Canadian player Caroline Crossley said following the loss.

“I'm definitively in shock. I'm very happy but it will take time to process this.”

The rugby silver gave Canada six medals (two gold, two silver, two bronze) through four days of full competition.

Canada's run to the rugby final included a stunning 21-12 semifinal win over Australia. It was one of three wins in team sport competition for Canada over its Commonwealth cousin on Tuesday.

Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett had 24 points as Canada improved to 2-0 in men's basketball with a 93-83 win over Australia in Lille. And in women's 3x3 basketball, Canada opened with a tidy 22-14 win over the Aussies.

While Barrett's performance gave Canada a key win over a strong Australian team, he credited superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for making life easier on the court.

"I'm out there with Shai, one of the best players in the world," said Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont. "Just playing with him, the whole team is open because he draws so much attention. So we're just really out there trying to help him."

The win, combined with Germany's 86-73 win over Brazil, clinched Canada a spot in next week's quarterfinals.

Canada finishes preliminary-round play Friday against Spain.

The women's 3x3 team was led by Edmonton twins Katherine and Michelle Plouffe, who combined for 18 of Canada's 22 points.

The win was a measure of revenge for the Canadians, who were eliminated by Australia at an Olympic qualifier and had to get to Paris at a last-chance tournament.

"We had a really strong game plan. We watched those games to make sure we were prepared. They are such a strong team, and we knew we had to be prepared," said Paige Crozon of Humboldt, Sask., who added four points and four rebounds.

Canada had mixed results in tennis, with Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime dominating his men's second-round match 6-0, 6-1 over Germany's Maximilian Marterer and Leylah Fernandez losing her women's third-round match 6-4, 6-3 to another German, veteran Angelique Kerber.

"I'm very disappointed with how I played," Fernandez said, struggling to hold back her emotions.

"I made a lot of forced errors, a lot of unforced errors. I didn't play a very smart match. Angie saw the open door and went in."

Auger-Aliassime also teamed with Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski on Tuesday to defeat Britain's Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury 7-5, 4-6, (10-3) in a first-round mixed doubles match.

In gymnastics, Canada's women's artistic team led by four-time Olympian Ellie Black of Halifax matched its best-ever result with a fifth-place finish. The American team led by Simone Biles easily won gold, but Canada was fourth entering the final rotation before being overtaken by Britain. Italy was second and Brazil third.

In swimming, Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., just missed adding to her career medal haul with a fourth-place finish in the 100-metre backstroke. Masse, who had won silver and bronze in the event at previous Games, led at the turn but couldn't hang on for a spot on the podium.

In the men's 200-metre butterfly, Montreal's Ilya Kharun had the third-best time in the semifinals and could be a medal threat in Wednesday's final.

In judo, Canada failed to build on the gold medal Christa Deguchi won on Monday, with both Tokyo bronze medallist Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of Saint-Hubert, Que., and François Gauthier Drapeau of Alma, Que., losing repechage matches.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press