Five Canadians to watch at the Olympics this summer

The 2024 Paris Olympics are coming up, and there are plenty of exciting athletes from Canada to follow this summer.

Here, we'll take a look at five different Canadians worth keeping an eye on for the 2024 Olympics.

Penny Oleksiak - Swimming

First up is Penny Oleksiak, who is set to compete in a variety of swimming competitions.

Oleksiak has been at this stage before, having competed in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Not only has she competed in the Olympics previously, but she also has had some success. 

In the 2016 Olympics, Oleksiak won four medals. These were a gold medal in the 100-Metre Freestyle, a silver medal in the 100-Metre Butterfly, a bronze medal in the 4x100-Metre Freestyle and a bronze medal in the 4x200-Metre Freestyle.

In 2020, Oleksiak won three medals: silver in the 4x100-Metre Freestyle, bronze in the 200-Metre Freestyle, and bronze in the 4x100-Metre Medley. 

Just from her two Olympic appearances, Oleksiak has proven to be one of the best Canadian swimmers and this summer should bring even more fireworks.

Felix Auger-Aliassime - Tennis

Switching over to tennis, more specifically, the men’s singles competition, Félix Auger-Aliassime is a player to watch out for.

Only 23 years old, Auger-Aliassime has already put together a solid career. He has been as high as No. 6 in the world, is currently ranked inside the top 20 players in the world and has five singles titles to his name. 

Some of his best finishes at major tournaments include two fourth round appearances at the French Open (2022, 2024), a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2022), and a semi-final appearance in the US Open (2021). 

He also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but was eliminated in the first round. That being said, Auger-Aliassime has improved greatly since this early exit and looks to be ready for a much deeper run.

Leylah Fernandez - Tennis

Staying with tennis and moving to the women’s singles competition, we have Leylah Fernandez as one of the athletes representing Canada.

Fernandez is only 21 years old but has already had some success as a professional, having already won three singles titles. 

In Majors, her best finishes include two second round appearances at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon (2023, 2024), a quarter-final appearance in the French Open (2022), and a run to the final at the US Open (2021).

Fernandez also previously competed at the 2020 Olympics, making it to the second round before being eliminated.

With a few more years of experience under her belt, a deeper run this time around at the Paris Olympics looks to be likely.     

Brooke Henderson - Golf

Next up on our list is Brooke Henderson, who will be competing in the women’s golf competition.

Henderson has had success in her professional golf career, posting 20 total wins, 13 coming on the LPGA Tour. 

Most notably, Henderson has won two major championships, the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016 and the Evian Championship in 2022.

She also has top-10 finishes in the Chevron Championship (T2 in 2020), the US Women’s Open (T5 in 2015), and the Women’s British Open (T7 in 2022).

This will be her first Olympics appearance and the first time she has represented Canada since 2014, when she was an amateur.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Basketball

Canada men's basketball point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder and has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA, becoming a finalist for the 2023/24 NBA season's MVP Award. 

He is averaging 22.8 points per game in his career and has averaged at least 30 points per game in each of the last two seasons. 

Gilgeous-Alexander has also represented Canada multiple times, including leading them to a bronze in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where they beat the United States to secure the nation's best-ever finish in that tournament.