Canada will showcase speed and strength at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Six-time medallist sprinter Andre De Grasse and champion weightlifter Maude Charron will carry the Canadian flag during Friday’s parade down the Seine, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday.
Live coverage of the unique opening ceremony will be available on CBC-TV, CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
In an Olympic first, each of the 91 countries will move along a six-kilometre route through the Seine on boats, rather than the traditional parade into the Olympic Stadium. The flotilla will end at the Trocadèro where the Olympic cauldron will be lit to signify the start of the Games.
More than 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the event, and they’ll all see De Grasse and Charron at the front of the Canadian contingent.
“It’s the perfect combo, isn’t it? Like strength and speed together to represent the team, it’s perfect,” Charron said in an interview with CBC Sports’ Scott Russell. “[I’m] obviously super honoured to do that with [De Grasse].”
‘Speechless’
De Grasse, 29, is entering his third Olympics having already collected six medals — including the 200-metre gold at Tokyo 2020.
The Markham, Ont., native is known for his steeliness under pressure, reaching the podium every time he’s competed in an Olympic event in addition to collecting five world-championship medals.
But he said the call asking him to carry Canada’s flag left him “speechless.”
Part of De Grasse’s surprise had to do with the fact that track-and-field competition doesn’t start until the second week of the Olympics. If he reaches the final in each of his three events, De Grasse will race for medals in the 100m on Aug. 4, the 200m on Aug. 8 and the 4x100m relay on Aug. 9.
De Grasse even had to triple-check that he really was the choice.
“When I got the news that they asked me to be a part of it, I was like, are you sure? And they’re like, no, no, you can do this,” he said.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. For me, it’s definitely a dream come true to not just be able to go to the opening ceremony, but to bear the flag for Team Canada. So I’m really just soaking it all in.”
WATCH | De Grasse eyes national 100-metre record:
The Canadian sprinter has made it clear that before he retires he wants the men’s national 100m record currently held jointly by Donovan Bailey & Bruny Surin. Certified track nerd Morgan Campbell gives an update on De Grasse from the time they spent together earlier this year in Jacksonville, Florida.
New challenge for Charron
Like De Grasse, the 31-year-old Charron also won’t compete until the second week of the Olympics.
“I didn’t even think that I was allowed to do the opening ceremony because I was in week two,” Charron said. “And now I’m doing it and I’m not just doing it, I’m leading it. It’s just crazy. It’s insane.”
But when Charron takes centre stage, she won’t be defending her Olympic title. She won gold in the 64-kilogram weight class in Tokyo, which has since been eliminated as a discipline.
Instead, the Rimouski, Que., native now competes in the 59kg class alongside two other Olympic champions. The event takes place Aug. 8.
WATCH | Charron sits down for 1-on-1 with Ariel Helwani:
Ariel Helwani sits down with the Olympic weightlifter to discuss her goals, her new weight category, and getting the opportunity to celebrate these Games with family.
Still, Charron has acquitted herself well, including winning a World Cup bronze in March when she lifted the same amount of weight as she did when she was more than four kilograms heavier in Tokyo.
“I feel like this is my bodyweight category now and I belong there and I’m as strong as I was before,” she said.
Team Canada is coming off its best showing at a non-boycotted Summer Games, having won 24 medals (seven gold, seven silver, 10 bronze) at Tokyo 2020.
Paris promises to be a very different Games, though, as family and fans alike return to watch the live action in the venues after being sidelined due to the pandemic in Tokyo.
“Paris, it’s like my dream. With everything that happened in Tokyo, I don’t regret anything. I had the perfect result. I had the gold medal. But Paris, I’m aiming just to have my perfect experience,” Charron said.
An experience that’ll start side-by-side with De Grasse, with a Canadian flag in their hands.
Source Agencies
