Canadian athletes won 92 medals at the Commonwealth Games — here's what's next

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Canada entered the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England with the goal of finishing in the top three of the medal table.

Consider it mission accomplished. Canadian athletes combined for 92 podium appearances, capped off by Michelle Li's badminton silver medal as competition wrapped up earlier today. The total fell only behind Australia's 178 and England's 176.

Hollie Naughton, who became the first Canadian ever to climb the squash podium when she scored silver, earned the honour of being named Canada's flag-bearer.

Canada leaves England with 10 more medals than it won at the previous Commonwealth Games in 2018. Of the 92 medals, 26 were gold — a whopping 11 more than four years ago. Even more startlingly, swimmers accounted for 20 of those gold medals. And it was 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, fresh off a breakout performance at the world championships, leading the way once again with six podium appearances (two gold, three silver, one bronze) and a Canadian record in the 400-metre individual medley. Race walker Evan Dunfee, who won Olympic bronze in the 50-kilometre event, set the national 10k mark en route to gold. Reigning champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes (beach volleyball) and Maude Charron (weightlifting) successfully defended their titles. And every single Canadian wrestler will return home with hardware for a total of 12 podium appearances.

For many Canadian summer athletes, the whirlwind since last spring, when preparation and qualification for the Tokyo Olympics reached top gear, has finally passed. Some swimmers, for example, experienced two