Four-time Olympian Natalie Achonwa leads Canadian women's basketball team on road to Paris

The excitement and preparation were evident as Kayla Alexander looked ahead to the Paris Olympics.

Alexander, Natalie Achonwa and Kia Nurse headline the Canadian women's basketball team announced Tuesday morning. This will be Alexander's second Olympics, but the first time with spectators since the 2021 Tokyo Games were held during the pandemic.

“Same level of excitement for sure,” said a smiling Alexander at the Canadian Olympic Committee offices. “It’s different because last time it was COVID so I didn’t get the full experience, I’m looking forward to it this time.”

“But the joy, the excitement and the sheer privilege of being able to represent your country never changes. It’s still something I’m overflowing with right now.”

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The fifth-ranked Canadians qualified for the Games last February at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Hungary. Canada finished 1-2 but was helped by fourth-ranked Spain, which beat host Hungary 73-72 in the tournament's final game.

This will be the fourth consecutive time the women have qualified for the Games. Canada is in Group B alongside third-ranked Australia, seventh-ranked host France and 12th-ranked Nigeria.

The tournament will run from July 28 to August 11, with the group stage taking place in Lille, France. The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed teams will advance to the final stage, which will be held in Paris.

Canada, which opens the tournament on July 29 against France, is looking to redeem itself after a disappointing ninth-place finish in Tokyo.

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Since then, Canada has placed fourth at the 2022 World Cup and won bronze at the 2023 AmeriCup. The fourth-place finish at the World Cup was Canada's best finish since a bronze medal in 1986.

“We're really hungry,” said fullback Sami Hill. “That's our goal, we've had it since the last Olympics, and especially since the World Cup when we got to the semi-finals and were really close to bronze and finished fourth.

“Our goal is to get on the podium and we will do everything to achieve that.”

The squad is expected to be at full strength, a first in some time. Canada often lacks players at tournaments due to work or school commitments or injuries.

The squad is a mix of veterans and youngsters.

Achonwa, who will become the first Canadian basketball player to compete in her fourth Games, is one of eight players on the team who have previously competed at the Olympics. She is also one of five WNBA players along with Nurse, Edwards, Laeticia Amihere and Bridget Carleton.

Meanwhile, guard Syla Swords is making her first Olympic appearance at age 18, fresh out of high school. Swords is a five-star recruit who will head to Michigan in the fall, while former five-star recruit and Notre Dame sophomore Cassandre Prosper also made the roster.

Canada's Alignment

• Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.)
• Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ont.)
• Laeticia Amihere (Mississauga, Ont.)
• Bridget Carleton (Chatham, Ont.)
• Shay Colley (Brampton, Ont.)
• Aaliyah Edwards (Kingston, Ont.)
• Yvonne Ejim (Calgary)
• Nirra Fields (Montreal)
• Sami Hill (Toronto)
• Nurse Kia (Hamilton)
• Cassandre Prosper (Montreal)
• Syla Swords (Sudbury, Ont.)

Canada's boxing medal hopes rest on Thibeault and Sanford

Boxing Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have named Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford to the Canadian boxing team for this summer's Paris Games.

Sanford and Thibeault both earned Olympic berths by winning gold at the 2023 Pan American Games.

They will be the only boxers on the Paris team after the nine Canadians who participated in an Olympic qualifying tournament earlier this year in Bangkok failed to secure another spot.

Thibeault, from Shawinigan, Que., will compete in the women's 75-kilogram category for the second consecutive time.

She advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2021 Tokyo Games, matching Canada's best Olympic result in a women's boxing event.

“I haven't accomplished everything I wanted to at the Olympics yet. Like many things in life, things haven't always gone as planned,” Thibeault said in a press release.

“With the pandemic, the preparations for the Tokyo Olympics were disappointing, especially because boxing is a very close contact sport, so training was really disrupted. So things didn't go the way I wanted, but that's okay because now I have another opportunity.”

Sanfordwill will compete in the men's 63.5kg competition. He is competing in his second Olympics after losing in the first round in Tokyo.

“It’s me in the ring, but it’s for the whole community. Without my hometown, I wouldn’t be where I am and I’m still fighting with them by my side,” said Sanford, originally from Kennetcook, N.S.

The boxing events will take place from July 27 to August 10 with preliminary rounds at the North Paris Arena and finals at the Roland Garros stadium.

Canada has won 17 Olympic medals in boxing, the most recent being David Defiagbon's silver in the men's heavyweight division in Atlanta in 1996.