Canadian Olympians return home after record-setting Summer Games

The arrival terminals at airports in Toronto and Montreal were filled with cheers on Monday as fans and family gathered to give a hero’s welcome to Canadian Olympians returning home from the Paris Games with a record-breaking medal haul.

The Summer Games saw Team Canada bring home an unprecedented number of medals — nine gold and 27 in total. Both were records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics, surpassing previous highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona.

At Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, about 15 Team Canada athletes were greeted by flag-waving airport staff on the tarmac and elated fans and family at the arrivals gate after the Olympians touched down just before 4 p.m.

Among the arrivals was Toronto swimmer Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old who became a household name after winning four medals, including three gold. McIntosh returned to Paris to carry the Canadian flag in the closing ceremony on Sunday alongside gold-winning hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., an experience she called “honestly amazing.”

“I can’t say thank you enough (to the fans) for all their support. It means the absolute world,” said McIntosh. “We wouldn’t be here without them today. Even when we were over in Paris, we could feel their support.”

Also among the returning athletes in Toronto was silver medallist rower Jessica Sevick, of Strathmore, Alta., who was all smiles alongside teammate Kristen Siermachesky, of New Liskeard, Ont. Sevick had lost her voice amid the ongoing celebrations, Siermachesky said, but it didn’t stop them from embracing the moment.

“Hard years of hard work, and I think just being able to release that with your teammates in Paris after celebrating that silver medal was pretty special,” said Siermachesky, an alternate for the women’s eights rowing team that reached the podium in the event for the second straight Games.

Swimmers Alex Axon, Ella Jansen and Lorne Wigginton also touched down in Toronto. All three made their Olympic debut in Paris, and Axon said their homecoming is an experience they’ll never forget.

“It takes a whole team of people — they say it takes a village — and just looking around here, I see so many people. It’s incredible,” said Axon, of Newmarket, Ont., who competed in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay but didn’t make it to the podium. “I hope I was able to make them proud.”

Skating around the arrivals terminal at Pearson airport was 14-year-old Fay De Fazio Ebert, a Toronto skateboarder who became Canada’s youngest Olympic team member since 1976. De Fazio Ebert placed 20th in her Olympic debut, and was proud that she pushed herself to try.

De Fazio Ebert said even though a part of her wanted to stay in Paris, she was happy to be home.

“It feels amazing to represent Canada and to know that a bunch of people have my back during this,” she said, noting she’s “looking for more” and will continue to work hard at improving.

At Montreal’s international airport, Sylvain Fafard was meeting his son, 25-year-old Thomas Fafard, who made it to the final for the men’s 5,000-metres event. Sylvain, who was in Paris to watch Thomas run, said “it was magic” to see his son enter the stadium in Paris.

Thomas didn’t know until the end of June whether he would qualify for the Olympics, and to the joy of his family he came in eighth in the first round and made it to the final, Sylvain said.

“The final was a little harder,” Sylvain said, explaining that Thomas tripped and hurt his ankle during the race.

“He said … yes the trip hurt him but it was more a mental thing that brought him out of the zone. When the mental or the physical doesn’t work at that level, it’s harder.

“But he’s an Olympian and we are very proud of his journey.”

Nathan Zsombor-Murray, from the Montreal suburb of Pointe-Claire, Que., won a bronze medal along with diving partner Rylan Wiens, from Saskatoon, Sask., in the men’s 10-metre synchronized platform.

Arriving at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, Zsombor-Murray wasn’t wearing his medal, telling reporters, “I don’t like to flaunt; I’m a humble person.”

He said the medal was in his suitcase, and that he would find a place to hang it at home.

After failing to win a medal in the individual men’s 10-metre platform, the 21-year-old said: “I wasn’t super happy … but I always try to learn from my experience.”

Now that the Games are over, he said he feels “a little jaded.”

“It’s been an incredible ride and I am incredibly blessed to have had that experience. But after a month away from home it’s hard not to get homesick.”

But he said there is a good chance he’ll try and make it back to Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Games.

“Is there another Games in me? I think there is. I’m going to take some time to reflect on what I want to do. I’m also studying. I will take a good break and focus on my studies for a bit now and then come back and see where it will take me.”

Caeli McKay, a Calgary diver who competed in the women’s 10-metre platform and the women’s synchronized 10-metre platform, said it was a thrill to see her supporters in the stands during these Games, unlike last time at the Tokyo Olympics, when the COVID-19 pandemic kept the crowds away.

“Being in Tokyo a few years ago and not having anyone there to support us was kind of hard,” she said. “Having everyone there this time and having a big cheerleading group was just really amazing, and being able to look up into the stands after my last dive was something really special.”

Another memorable aspect of Paris is the fact her husband, former Olympic diver Vincent Riendeau, was part of her cheering squad.

“It was special to have him there and it was his first Olympics as a spectator. It was cool experience for him and obviously nice to have the support of an Olympic husband.”

Cedrick Belony-Duliepre, who lives on Montreal’s South Shore, is Canadian but chose to represent Haiti in Paris to honour his grandparents, who are from the Caribbean country. His family members were at the airport to greet him.

Belony-Duliepre lost in the round of 16 in men’s 80-kg boxing, but said his time in Paris “was an amazing experience. It was my dream.

“I worked so hard, since the age of 15, I’m now 25 and it’s been 10 years that I’ve worked so hard, that it’s been my dream. Every day I worked for this … I made sacrifices, with the highs and lows I never let go.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.

Stephane Blais and Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press