Canadians to watch at the Pan Am Games
15 Olympic medallists are competed for Canada in Chile
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The Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile officially begin Friday night with the opening ceremony, and preliminary competition is already underway in baseball and boxing. It won't be long before Canadian athletes start piling up medals: 473 of them are competing across the three dozen or so sports on the program, and Canada ranks third all-time in Pan Am Games podiums, behind the United States and Cuba.
Track icon Andre De Grasse and swimming phenom Summer McIntosh are among the high-profile names not taking part in the Games, leaving Canada without its biggest star in the two most popular sports. But the Canadian team still features several accomplished athletes, including 15 who have won Olympic medals.
Here's a look at some of the Canadians likely to reach the podium over the next 17 days:
Maggie Mac Neil (swimming): With McIntosh and three-time backstroke world champ Kylie Masse skipping the Pan Ams and Penny Oleksiak still making her way back from knee and shoulder injuries, Mac Neil is easily Canada's top swimmer in Chile. She's also the country's only reigning Olympic swimming champion, taking gold in the 100m butterfly in Tokyo after winning the world title in that event in 2019. At this year's worlds, Mac Neil, 23, took silver in the 100 fly and helped Canada to a relay bronze. Correction: In yesterday's newsletter previewing the Pan Am Games, I mentioned Josh Liendo, Canada's best male swimmer, as one of the athletes competing. But, after appearing on the initial entry list, he decided not to go.
Maude Charron (weightlifting): Charron, Mac Neil and rowing coxswain Kristen Kit are the only Canadian gold medallists from the last Summer Olympics who are at the Pan Am Games. Charron, now 30, won the women's 64-kg event in Tokyo before repeating as Commonwealth Games champion last year. She's also reached the podium twice at the world championships.
WATCH | Why Paris will be Maude Charron's 'dream' Olympics:
Ethan Katzberg (track and field): The hirsute 21-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C. shocked everybody at this summer's world championships in Budapest by stealing the men's hammer throw title in his worlds debut. Katzberg is the youngest men's world champion ever in this event and the first Canadian hammer thrower to win a world title — beating Camryn Rogers, who captured the women's gold in Budapest, by a few days. Rogers is not competing in the Pan Ams, but other Canadian track and field standouts include Sarah Mitton, won took silver in the women's shot put at worlds; and veteran race walker Evan Dunfee, the 2021 Olympic bronze medallist who had a pair of fourth-place finishes at worlds.
Pamela Ware and Caeli McKay (diving): While many Canadian sports are sending something like a B team to the Pan Ams, diving went all in. Ware and McKay each won an individual bronze at this year's world championships (Ware in the 3m springboard, McKay in the 10m platform), while Mia Vallée (Ware's teammate in the 3m synchronized event) was a double solo medallist at the 2022 worlds. On the men's side, Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens took bronze in the 10m synchro at last year's worlds.
Tammara Thibeault (boxing): She won the women's middleweight world championship in 2022 but didn't get to defend it this year after Canada joined other countries in boycotting the worlds. The move was a protest against the International Boxing Association, the chronically corrupt governing body that allowed Russian and Belarusian fighters to represent their countries at the worlds, against the instructions of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has taken over administration of the 2024 Olympic boxing events from the IBA, and the Pan Am Games are a key qualifier. Every fighter who reaches the final of their weight class earns a ticket to Paris, and Canada has sent a full team of 13 to Chile — one for each men's and women's division. Read more about Canada's place in the always-dodgy world of international boxing in this piece by CBC Sports contributor Morgan Campbell. Read Tammara's first-person piece on what the Pan Ams mean to Canadian boxers here.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandi Wilkerson (beach volleyball): The world's fifth-ranked women's duo is coming off a disappointing quarterfinal exit from the world championships in Mexico. But Humana-Paredes could not be more excited to get back out on the sand at the Pan Am Games. Both of her parents are Chilean expats, and she expects to have 20-30 relatives in the stands at her matches. "It'll be their first time watching me play [in person], which is so special," she said. Read more about Humana-Paredes' family reunion and other Canadian athletes with Chilean roots in this story by CBC Sports' Doug Harrison.
WATCH | Canada's Humana-Paredes excited to compete in parents' home nation:
How to watch the Pan Am Games:
CBC Sports' live streaming coverage begins Friday, with a full day of competition starting at 8:20 a.m. ET and the opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Starting Saturday, live sports will be streamed on multiple channels each day on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Those platforms will also carry a live show weekdays starting at 6 p.m. ET, hosted by Anastasia Bucsis and featuring a mix of live events and highlights with a focus on Canadian athletes. The CBC TV network will have additional coverage on Saturday and Sunday afternoons throughout the Games, hosted by Scott Russell and Andi Petrillo.
See the full streaming and broadcast schedules here.
