Shot at history: Canada Basketball could have 3 medal threats at Paris Olympics
CBC
After clinching an Olympic spot with a win over Spain at the World Cup, Canada Basketball president Mike Bartlett expected the men's team to party.
Not so.
"What do the guys do? They take to the team room and have like a Mario Kart tournament until 4 in the morning," Bartlett recalled to CBC Sports. "They're laser focused on being good people, having fun with each other and getting their job done."
Canada wound up winning bronze — the first time the men's team has ever reached the World Cup podium.
Bartlett said he envisions those future moments as Canadian rallying cries.
"We talk about a lot around the office, working backwards from the moment that we see in our head and quite frankly, winning gold while the world is watching, putting our flag in the ground in the basketball court," he said.
"Internationally, our men, our women, our women's 3x3 team all have that capability. There will be an opportunity for us to make history at the Olympics with our teams."
WATCH | Bartlett confident in program ahead of Paris Olympics:
While the men's team is already in the Olympics for the first time since 2000, the women's five-on-five team must advance through a pre-qualifying tournament in November, likely in Puerto Rico, per Bartlett. The next step would be Olympic qualifiers in November, where 12 of 16 teams will move on to Paris. Those are set to take place in Brazil, Belgium, Hungary and China.
Despite winning the past two Women's Series Finals, Canada's 3x3 team is still ranked fifth, outside of an Olympic qualifying spot. It has two chances to book its first-ever Olympic berth at separate qualifying events in May and June.
Each of the three teams will take different paths to Paris with about 10 months to go, but a common theme will be continued chemistry.
While the women's squads are forced into qualifiers, most of the men's roster — including head coach Jordi Fernandez — will see each other throughout the NBA season.
Nine of the core 14 players on the men's roster played at the World Cup, but others like Andrew Wiggins, who isn't a member of that group, and Jamal Murray, who is, will likely have more incentive to play at the Olympics.
The dilemma leaves questions of talent vs. commitment for Canada Basketball decision makers.
Canadian Para nordic skiing star Natalie Wilkie has now won a medal of every colour at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, adding bronze in the women's standing sprint classic on Tuesday in Val di Fiemme.
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Canadian Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith continued their impressive Paralympic debut on Monday by racing to bronze in the men's visually impaired super-G for their second medal.
Matt Dunstone won his first Canadian men's curling championship after knocking hard on the Brier's door in recent years.
Natalie Wilkie won Canada's first gold medal of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, topping the podium in the women's standing biathlon on Sunday.
Most Paralympic athletes live relatively normal lives when they’re not competing.
Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith took silver in the men's visually impaired downhill competition for Canada's first medal of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics on Saturday in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
The Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics officially opened Friday amid the tensions of war in the Middle East, and with some countries boycotting the opening ceremony because of the return of the Russian flag to the global sports stage.
Iran will not participate in the Milan Cortina Paralympics because its only athlete set to compete can't safely travel to Italy amid the intensifying Middle East conflict, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday.
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Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh had a chance to redeem herself against United States legend Katie Ledecky but came up short by nearly two seconds on Wednesday night at a Pro Swim Series meet in Westmont, Ill.
Her first real foray into the kitchen was back when she was barely a teenager. Zoë Rhooms knew the athlete in the family had a sweet tooth and she always looked out for her big brother, Aaron. When he was nine, Aaron told Zoë and their parents that when he grew up, he was going to be the next Batman. Then a few weeks later, Aaron came home from school and declared to everyone he had changed career paths — a basketball player he’d be.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman declined an opportunity Tuesday to weigh in on the political aspect of the U.S. hockey celebration at the Milan-Cortina Olympics but did say he thought what was portrayed "was unfortunate and not accurate."