Paris 2024: Canadian athletes to watch at the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Photo credit: Michael P. Hall/Natation Canada

It’s finally time to cheer on our Canadian athletes! From July 26 to August 11, 2024, a delegation of 337 athletes will represent Canada at the Olympic Games. Then, from August 28 to September 8, 2024, other athletes will continue to proudly represent the maple leaf at the Paralympic Games.

Behind every medal and result in the Olympic world, there are human beings with journeys and stories that deserve to be told and can inspire Canada from one ocean to another. Here are some of the athletes we’ll definitely be following at Paris 2024.

Maude Charron has been appointed as flag bearer for Team Canada at the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, sharing the honour with Andre De Grasse. The Rimouski-born Quebec athlete became Olympic champion at the Tokyo 2020 Games in the 64kg category, winning Canada’s second-ever Olympic gold medal in weightlifting. Maude Charron has a lot to look forward to at Paris 2024.

Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 and World silver medallist, Damian Warner has what it takes to reach the top step of the podium at Paris 2024. Imagine being crowned champion of a ten-event discipline in athletics! Anyone who achieves this feat earns the widely recognized title of “World’s Greatest Athlete”.

Canadian teammate Pierce LePage also had high medal hopes as reigning world champion, but unfortunately had to withdraw at the last minute due to injury. We wish him a speedy recovery.

A veteran and a rookie have recently teamed up to form a formidable duo that is taking the world by surprise. While Jacqueline Simoneau will be taking part in her fourth Olympic Games, this will be a first for Audrey Lamothe, aged just 19. This duo has continued to make its mark on the international scene, winning gold at this season’s World Cup Super Final. Judging by their progress, anything is possible in Paris 2024 for the two Canadian athletes, who will also be taking part in the team event.

The Ontario sprinter has no fewer than six Olympic medals to his name! His latest Olympic feats include gold in the 200m and bronze in the 100m, setting Canadian and personal records along the way. And let’s not forget the silver medal in the 4x100m relay, won with the help of his Team Canada teammates. If the trend continues, we can expect some great athletic moments with De Grasse in Paris. Andre De Grasse was named Team Canada flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, alongside Maude Charron.

She impressed the world on her Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, aged just 14, finishing just off the podium in the 400m freestyle. Since then, she’s already racked up four world championship gold medals, the most ever won by a Canadian woman. Most recently, she beat her own world record in the 400m individual medley by 1.5 seconds at the Olympic trials. Now 17 and ready for her second Olympic Games, Summer Mcintosh has everything within her grasp.

Also worth watching in swimming: Maggie Mac Neil, Penny Oleksiak and Kylie Masse, all Olympic medallists at Tokyo 2020, and many others. It promises to be great!

Audrey Leduc’s meteoric rise is turning heads, and with good reason! In her final year of Olympic preparation, Leduc set new Canadian records in the 100m and 200m. Ready to take part in her first Olympic Games, the 25-year-old Quebecer will be keeping an eye on the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events.

Discover the complete list of Team Canada athletes at Paris 2024 here.

Cindy Ouellet is one of the few athletes to have competed in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. This will be her fifth Paralympic Games in Paris 2024! After taking part in the Paranordic skiing event at PyeongChang 2018, and contributing to Team Canada’s gold medal at Tokyo 2020 in the wheelchair basketball event, Cindy Ouellet shows us that nothing is impossible in achieving her dreams!

Nate Riech is the reigning T38 men’s 1,500m Paralympic champion, and also the 2023 world champion in the same event. Coming from a family of athletes (both his parents competed in athletics), we can’t wait to see Nate Riech continue to write his story at Paris 2024.

Five. The number of medals won by Aurélie Rivard at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in para-swimming. She had already collected five more at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. We don’t know what the future holds for her in Paris 2024, but it looks very promising for the Canadian swimmer.

Wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos won not just one, but four silver medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The Quebecer has been taking part in the Paralympic Games since Athens 2004, which means Paris 2024 will be his… sixth Games! It will be Canada’s honor and pride to see Lakatos perform at the highest world level once again in Paris.

Want to experience the excitement of the Olympic Games in person? It’s not too late to take part, check out our last-minute guide to Paris 2024 to save on your trip.

If you’re already in Paris, check out our practical Paris travel guide to save time and money on your travels! And since Visa is the official payment partner of the Games, make sure you have a credit card like the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card in your pocket, as it will be accepted everywhere and you’ll avoid conversion fees on your euro payments.

This list could be much more exhaustive, as there’s certainly no shortage of exceptional athletes in Canada. Follow them on social media, cheer on them from afar or in person; their stories deserve to be known and shared! We wish you thrilling Olympic and Paralympic Games moments! And you, who are your favorite Canadian athletes at the Paris 2024 Games?

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