Wyatt Sanford ups Canada’s medal haul to 16, as Summer McIntosh misses chance at a 5th medal in Paris

August 4, 2024 Vaseline blog 0

Wyatt Sanford ups Canada’s medal haul to 16, as Summer McIntosh misses chance at a 5th medal in Paris

While the watching experience and timing for the 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t quite as challenging for Canadian viewers as it was for Tokyo 2020 or Beijing 2022, a good chunk of action during these Games happens when plenty of Canadians are fast asleep.

Whether you were crushing some zzz’s, busy at work, had family activities to take part in or just didn’t have a chance to tune in, we have you covered throughout these Olympics from start to finish, with Team Canada currently sitting at 16 medals.

Here’s what you may have missed on Day 9, including a bronze medal in men’s boxing, and Summer McIntosh missing a chance to make even more Canadian history.

France’s Sofiane Oumiha (Blue) reacts after beating Canada’s Wyatt Sanford in the men’s 63.5kg semi-final boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on August 4, 2024. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP) (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Wyatt Sanford had his eyes on the gold medal, but the Nova Scotia native unfortunately settles for bronze after losing his semifinal fight against France’s Sofiane Oumiha 4-1.

Despite the semifinal loss, Sanford instantly becomes a bronze medalist due to the rules of Olympic boxing. Since there is no bronze-medal fight in the Olympics, the two fighters to lose in the semifinals become instant bronze medalists.

Sanford made his Olympic debut in Paris after winning gold at last year’s Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile — and boy, did he make his mark. The east-coast fighter becomes Canada’s first Olympic boxing medalist since 1996, when David Defiagbon won a heavyweight silver medal at the Summer Games in Atlanta.

While Canadians across the country are impressed with Sanford’s bronze-medal performance, the people in his hometown of Kennetcook, NS, couldn’t be more proud.

Summer McIntosh, who had a chance to win a Canadian record-setting fifth medal this afternoon at the 2024 Olympics, will have to settle for four medals as she and her teammates finished fourth in the 4×100-meter women’s medley relay.

The women’s medley relay team — which consisted of McIntosh, Kylie Masse, Sophie Angus and Maggie Mac Neil — came very close to sneaking into third place, finishing .68 seconds behind the People’s Republic of China, who won the bronze medal. The United States and Australia won gold and silver, respectively.

Also in the pool, the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay team missed out on a podium finish as well, finishing fifth in this afternoon’s final.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Canadian men had a very successful Olympic Games in the pool, finishing with three medals among the group. Ilya Kharun led the charge with bronze in both the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, while Josh Liendo will take home a silver medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly.