A summer of highs and lows for Canada

Canada’s record performance at the Paris Olympics did not happen without thorns, but athletes provided unforgettable sporting moments.

- DONNA SPENCER

Team Canada athletes wave to the crowd during the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Nine golds and 27 total medals were both records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Games, surpassing highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona.

“There have been some highs, some lows, some surprises, a lot of surprises, joy and heartbreak, and we’ve seen it all here in Paris,” Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith said Sunday.

Canada ranked 11th in the final medal count (in gold and total) among 84 countries that won at least one. Four years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, the United States after finishing atop the table in Paris with 122 medals, including 38 gold.

Canadians picked up medals in 15 different sports, matching their high from the boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics in L.A.

Swimming (eight) and track and field (five) accounted for almost half of Canada’s total in Paris, where Canadian athletes finished among the top five in an event 49 times.

Summer McIntosh led in the pool with triple gold plus a silver. Ethan Katzberg’s hammer throw gold was a first, and followed two days later by teammate Camryn Rogers in the women’s event for a sweep at Stade de France.

McIntosh and Katzberg, who left France after competing, returned to carry the Canadian flag in Sunday’s closing ceremony.