'Strong' Canadian athletics team enters Paris boasting depth with eyes on medals

Looking to build on a wealth of recent success, Canada's athletics team enters the Paris Olympics with three reigning world champions and a number of medal contenders.

Canada's track and field squad grabbed six medals at each of the last two Games. The closest it had come to that level since winning nine medals in 1932 was five at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Canadian athletes also won six medals at the 2023 world championships, the second-most ever at a single worlds.

"It's really exciting to be on a team that's about to win a lot of medals because the momentum that you feel as the team starts to pick a few up, it elevates the entire team," said Sarah Mitton, the world's second-ranked women's shot putter and a silver medallist at last year's worlds.

Mitton was a part of a trio that put Canadian throwing on the map last summer, with Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers earning gold in the men's and women's hammer throw events.

The 28-year-old Mitton said seeing the success of her teammates gave her a boost at worlds.

"Ethan won the hammer [and] everyone was mind blown, and the excitement of that carried into other people's performances, especially mine," she said. "My other teammate Camryn goes out and wins a gold medal and I'm like, 'Holy crap, this is amazing. The throwers are on, now I've got to step up. I've always wanted to step up but now they've done it, it would be awesome to join them.'

She got a further boost when Marco Arop won the 800 metres in the middle of her competition.

"So I'm standing here as he's doing his final 100, I could feel that," she said.

"I ended up going over to (coach) Richard (Parkinson) for some technical advice and Marco was doing his victory lap and we have a picture with him,