 Your Olympic questions answered: Who should be Canada's flag-bearer? | | | With the Paris Summer Games now less than 100 days away, it's a good time to dip back into our Olympic mailbag. Thanks again to everyone who has submitted their questions about the Summer Olympics.
There's still time to get yours answered. Remember, no question is too big, too small or too weird! Send them to thebuzzer@cbc.ca and I'll continue to answer the best ones as the Games approach.
Today's question is from Rachel, who asks: Who do you think will be Canada's flag-bearer(s) for the opening ceremony?
In real life, this is a tricky decision because of the myriad factors at play. Scheduling, for instance, is a major headache. Swimmers never get picked anymore because many of them compete the morning after the ceremony. Track and field athletes have the opposite problem: their events are later in the Games, so many of them might not even be in Paris yet. The women's soccer team's opening match takes place the night before in Saint-Etienne, which is hundreds of kilometres away.
Then there's the cold reality that many athletes simply don't want to do it. The superstition of a Canadian flag-bearer "curse" has faded over the past couple of decades, but it was downright terrifying to some in the 1990s and early 2000s after high-profile athletes like decathlete Mike Smith, figure skater Kurt Browning and skier Jean-Luc Brassard missed the podium altogether after carrying the maple leaf.
For many, it's better to just avoid the pressure and the hassles. And those could be more daunting this time as the Paris opening ceremony features an ambitious athletes' parade of more than 80 boats on the iconic Seine river, with hundreds of thousands of fans expected to attend the four-hour open-air show.
For the purposes of today's exercise, though, let's pretend that scheduling isn't a factor and that every athlete on the Canadian team is willing to accept the honour. Let's also assume Canada will continue to follow the International Olympic Committee's suggestion, first introduced in 2021, to select both a man and a woman to share the role. Personally, I'd also like the flag-bearers to be familiar to a lot of Canadians and have a chance to win at least one medal at these Games. Extra credit to those who already own one.
With those criteria in mind, here are two women and two men — each from a different sport — who would make excellent Canadian flag-bearers for the opening ceremony on July 26 in Paris:
Maggie Mac Neil (swimming): Yes, Summer McIntosh will likely be Canada's biggest star of the Games. But the teenage swimming phenom has yet to win an Olympic medal. So it might be best to save her for the closing ceremony, when she'll probably be carrying several of them. For the opening, I'll go with Mac Neil. Canada's only reigning Olympic swimming champion (women's 100m butterfly) also won a pair of relay medals in Tokyo and is a former world champ in her signature event.
Jessie Fleming (soccer): For most Canadians, the women's soccer team's gold-medal shootout victory over Sweden was the most thrilling moment of the 2021 Tokyo Games. It wouldn't have happened without Fleming. The fearless midfielder's late second-half penalty kick sent Canada to a monumental 1-0 upset of the United States in the semifinals before she forced extra time in the gold-medal match with another clutch penalty. Fleming also buried her shootout attempts in the quarterfinals against Brazil and the final against the Swedes. To boot, she's now the team captain after the retirement of Christine Sinclair.
Andre De Grasse (track and field): Speaking of clutch athletes, here's De Grasse's Olympic track record: six career starts, six medals — highlighted by a 200m gold in Tokyo. And yet, Canada's most decorated track star has never carried the flag at an Olympic opening or closing ceremony. De Grasse turns 30 later this year and is no lock to add another medal in Paris, so it might be a good idea to celebrate him before the Games begin.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (basketball): The 25-year-old guard was just named one of three finalists for the NBA MVP award after placing third in the league in scoring and leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top spot in the Western Conference. SGA won't win the MVP (Denver's Nikola Jokic is pretty much a lock for his third in four seasons) but he could lead Canada to its first Olympic basketball medal in 88 years. Last summer, Gilgeous-Alexander lifted the Canadian men's team to its first-ever medal at the Basketball World Cup (formerly the world championships) and its first Olympic berth since 2000.
Some honourable mentions:
Canada's only other reigning Olympic track and field champion besides De Grasse is decathlon star Damian Warner, but he carried the flag at the Tokyo closing ceremony. That doesn't necessarily disqualify an athlete from doing it again, but the tendency is to give someone else a chance. If we're going in that direction with a track and field star, how about one of Canada's four gold medallists from last year's world championships: decathlete Pierce LePage, 800m runner Marco Arop and hammer throwers Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers.
The women's eight rowing team's surprising gold-medal victory in Tokyo was one of the best moments of those Games, and it looks like at least some members of the crew will be back for Paris. They'd be naturals for the boat-based opening ceremony, but it might be hard to pick just one of them.
Looking to go off the board with a really fresh pick? How about Philip Kim — aka B-Boy Phil Wizard. The 2022 world champion is among the favourites to win gold in the brand-new Olympic sport of breaking.
Did I miss someone? Who's your pick for Canadian flag-bearer? Let me know by emailing thebuzzer@cbc.ca. | | |  | Six-time Olympic medallist Andre De Grasse would be a great choice to carry the Canadian flag in Paris. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images) | | | Quickly… | | | Some other things to know:
1. Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko is out with an injury.
Demko, who made 20 saves in Vancouver's playoff-opening 4-2 win over Nashville on Sunday, will not play in Game 2 tonight at 10 p.m. ET, coach Rick Tocchet said. Demko is reportedly considered questionable for the rest of the series. He returned in the final week of the regular season from a knee injury he suffered in early March, but Tocchet indicated a different injury is now keeping him out.
Demko ranked third in the NHL with a .918 save percentage this season for the Pacific Division champion Canucks. His backup, Casey DeSmith, posted an .896 mark.
Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET, the Winnipeg Jets look to build on their wild 7-6 opening win over Colorado. The New York Rangers (vs. Washington) and Florida Panthers (vs. Tampa Bay) are also seeking 2-0 leads tonight.
Last night, Connor McDavid recorded the NHL's first five-assist playoff game of this century in Edmonton's 7-4 win over Los Angeles. McDavid's linemate Zach Hyman scored a hat trick and added an assist while defenceman Evan Bouchard had four helpers for the Oilers. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Edmonton.
Auston Matthews' third-period breakaway goal gave Toronto a 3-2 win over Boston last night that evened their series at one game apiece. The Leafs were once again without their second-leading scorer William Nylander, who could return for Game 3 in Toronto on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere in the NHL playoffs last night, Carolina rallied for a 5-3 win over the Islanders and a 2-0 series lead while defending champion Vegas beat Dallas 4-3 in their opener. Vegas captain Mark Stone scored 83 seconds into the game after missing the last 26 regular-season contests due to a lacerated spleen.
2. Jamal Murray's buzzer-beater put NBA champion Denver up 2-0 on the Lakers.
The star Canadian guard shook off a huge block by LeBron James earlier in the game to nail a Kawhi-esque fadeaway jumper that gave the Nuggets a 101-99 win last night. Murray finished with 20 points. Game 3 is Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in the NBA playoffs last night, the New York Knicks went up 2-0 on Philadelphia with a stunning comeback in the final 30 seconds while Cleveland took a 2-0 lead on Orlando.
Tonight, Minnesota (vs. Phoenix), Milwaukee (vs. Indiana) and the L.A. Clippers (vs. Dallas) look to go up 2-0 in their series.
3. Canada suffered its first loss at the mixed doubles curling world championship.
After defeating Scotland this morning to improve to 5-0, the husband-and-wife team of Colton and Kadriana Lott fell 6-5 to host Sweden. That dropped them behind the Swedes (6-0) for top spot in Group B. But, with three games remaining, the Canadians remain in good shape to secure one of the three playoff spots from their division.
The group stage runs through Thursday and the medal games are on Saturday.
Canada has never won gold at the mixed doubles worlds, which have been held nearly every year since 2008. Last year, six-time Canadian women's champion Jennifer Jones and her husband Brent Laing lost the bronze game to Norway. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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