Olympic Roundup: Wiebe wins gold; De Grasse wins silver

By The Canadian Press

Andre De Grasse kept adding to his and Canada’s medal totals on Day 13 of the Rio Olympics.

The sprint star from Markham, Ont., won the silver medal in the men’s 200-metre final on Thursday night for the second medal of his Olympic debut.

The 21-year-old De Grasse finished the race in 20.02 seconds, just behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who took gold for the third consecutive Olympics in 19.78. France’s Christophe Lemaitre was third in 20.12 seconds.

De Grasse became the first Canadian to win two individual track medals in the same Olympics since 1932.

“I’m really happy with two medals, but my race today could have been better,” De Grasse said. “I couldn’t really tell what happened. I came off the bend and tried to do something, tried to go, but maybe I used up too much energy in the semifinal yesterday.”

Canada’s tied with South Korea for 10th in the overall medal standings with four gold, three silver and 11 bronze. The Canadians are targeting a top-12 finish when the 2016 Summer Games end Sunday.

De Grasse could add a third medal in the 4×100 relay final, where Canada is looking for redemption after a lane violation four years ago in London cost them a bronze medal.


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De Grasse wasn’t the only Canadian to claim hardware on the track as Damian Warner, of London, Ont., took bronze in the decathlon.

Warner finished the 10-discipline competition with 8,666 points and matched Dave Steen from the 1988 Seoul Games for the best-ever Canadian finish in decathlon.

Defending champion Ashton Eaton of the U.S. won gold with 8,893 points while France’s Kevin Mayer took silver with 8,834 points.

“I’m tired right now, but I’m very happy I was able to pull it out,” Warner said. “I had pretty strong goals coming into these Olympics, and I wanted to challenge for that gold spot, but there’s many ups and downs within a decathlon, and I’m proud of myself and the work that my coaches have put in.”

WRESTLING

Canada reached its largest gold medal tally in 24 years earlier in the day after Erica Wiebe won the 75-kilogram wrestling crown. Canada won seven medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Wiebe, from Ottawa, was dominant in her match against Guzel Manyurova of Kazakhstan, winning 6-0, and bringing Canada its fourth gold in Rio.

“I didn’t think about who I was wrestling, I didn’t think about what they were,” she said. “I just thought about what I needed to do in that moment and I still don’t really believe it.”

Wiebe is Canada’s third-ever gold medallist in wrestling, following Daniel Igali at the 2000 Games in Sydney 2000 and Carol Huynh in Beijing in 2008.

Her win also keeps Canada’s streak in women’s wrestling alive, one that dates back to the 2004 Athens Olympics when the discipline made its debut.

DIVING

Canadian diver Meaghan Benfeito capped off her Rio run in style after winning her second bronze and first individual medal.

The 27-year-old from Laval, Que., finished with an overall score of 389.20, behind Ren Qian and Si Yajie of China. She had contemplated retirement, but said she has decided to stick around.

“I’ve always said that if I became a double Olympic medallist, I would stop diving,” Benfeito said. “But I want to continue and my decision (to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Games) had already been made.”

Benfeito’s teammate Roseline Filion, 29, also from Laval, placed sixth with 367.95. The duo won bronze together in the 10-metre synchronized event, defending the medal they won at the 2012 London Games.

GOLF

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., made her move in the second round of women’s golf at the Olympics after five consecutive birdies to finish 7-under 64. Henderson shot up the leaderboard into a tie with Britain’s Charley Hull for third in the event, closing in on South Korea’s Inbee Park and American Stacy Lewis. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (69) is tied for 32nd at one under.

What other Canadians did on Day 13:

ATHLETICS

Men’s 1,500 – Nathan Brannen, Cambridge, Ont., finished 11th overall in the semifinal round (3:40.20) and earned a berth in Saturday’s final; Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Quebec City, was 17th (3:40.790) – 0.54 seconds short of advancing.

Men’s 4×100 relay – Canada (Akeem Haynes, Calgary; Aaron Brown, Toronto; Brendon Rodney, Brampton, Ont.; and Mobolade Ajomale, Richmond Hill, Ont.) posted the fourth-fastest time in qualifying (37.89) to earn a berth in Friday night’s final.

Men’s shot put – Tim Nedow, Brockville, Ont., did not advance with a best toss of 20.00 metres in the qualifying round.

Women’s 800 – Melissa Bishop, Eganville, Ont., finished second in her semifinal (1:59.05) to earn an automatic berth in Saturday’s medal race.

Women’s 4×100 relay – Canada (Farah Jacques, Gatineau, Que.; Crystal Emmanuel, Toronto; Phylicia George, Markham, Ont.; and Khamica Bingham, Brampton, Ont.) placed seventh overall in qualifying in a season-best 42.70, and will race in Friday night’s final.

Women’s high jump – Alyxandria Treasure, Prince George, B.C., earned a berth in Saturday’s final with a mark of 1.94 in qualifying.

CANOE/KAYAK (SPRINT)

Men’s K2 200 – Ryan Cochrane, Lac Beauport, Que., and Hugues Fournel, Dorval, Que., finished eighth in the final (33.767).

CYCLING (BMX)

Men – Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, B.C., won his quarter-final group (first, 35.958 seconds; first, 35.035; and second, 38.754) and advanced to Friday’s semifinal round.

MODERN PENTATHLON

Women’s fencing – Melanie McCann, Mount Carmel, Ont., was third in the ranking round with 238 points; Donna Vakalis, Toronto, was fourth (232).

TRIATHLON

Men – Tyler Mislawchuk of Oak Bluff, Man., finished 15th overall in one hour, 47 minutes and 50 seconds; Andrew Yorke, Caledon East, Ont., was 42nd (1:52:46).

WRESTLING

Women’s 56 kilogram freestyle – Jillian Gallays, Saskatoon, lost 11-0 in her qualification match to Myong Suk Jon of North Korea.

Women’s 63 kg freestyle – Danielle Lappage, Olds, Alta., suffered an injury during her opening-round bout against Yulia Tkach Ostapchuk, Ukraine, did not advance.

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