Sports for Friday, July 30th by Brendan Pawliw
Olympics
The Tokyo Olympics continues to roll on with Canadian athletes making an impact.
Vanessa Gilles had the decisive goal as Canada beat Brazil 4-3 on penalty kicks Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament.
Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe sealed the win with a diving two-handed save on Brazilian defender Rafaelle.
The Canadian women’s eight-rowing crew captured gold.
The group crossed the line first in Friday’s final with a time of five minutes 59.13 seconds at Sea Forest Waterway.
This is Canada’s first gold in the event since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
In addition, Penny Oleksiak swam faster than she ever had in the 100-metre freestyle but was unable to reach the podium.
The 21-year-old finished fourth in the event but is still Canada’s most decorated Summer Olympian with six medals.
Our country has 11 medals.
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Canadian Medals
Gold: (3)
Women’s eight crew rowing
Weightlifter Maude Charron in women’s 64-kilogram weight class.
Margaret Mac Neil in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Silver: (3)
Swimmer Kylie Masse in women’s 100-metre backstroke.
Women’s 4×100-metre freestyle relay swim team.
Divers Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu in women’s three-metre synchronized springboard.
Bronze: (5)
Swimmer Penny Oleksiak in the women’s 200m freestyle.
Women’s softball team.
Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard in women’s judo under-63 kilogram division.
Jessica Klimkait in women’s judo under-57 kilogram category.
Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens claimed third place in women’s pair rowing
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In men’s volleyball, Canada (2-2) secured a three-set victory over Venezuela (25-13, 25-22, 25-12).
The Canadians face Poland on Sunday to close out group play.
Canada’s women’s rugby sevens have hit the skids following a 31-0 loss to France, dropping its second straight match.
Kayla Moleschi of Williams Lake is a member of the rugby team.
World silver medalist Melissa Bishop-Nriagu fell short in track and field.
She finished fourth in her heat of the women’s 800 metres and didn’t advance to the semifinals.
Canada has a team of 371 athletes (225 women and 146 men) in Tokyo. Among the female athletes: Regan Yee of Hazelton who will compete in track in the 3000 Metre Steeplechase and Kayla Moleschi of Williams Lake who is part of the women’s rugby team.
The Olympics run through to August 8th.
NHL
The St. Louis Blues signed ex-Colorado Avalanche Forward Brandon Saad to a five-year deal worth $22.5 million dollars.
Saad had 29 points last season with Avs.
MLB
Toronto Blue Jays 13 Boston Red Sox 1
Vladimir Guerrero and Teoscar Hernandez each had 3 RBI’s for the 51-48 Jays who return to Toronto for the first time since September of 2019 when they host the Kansas City Royals (45-56).
The Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a deal to acquire star right-hander Max Scherzer and star shortstop Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals for four prospects.
The prospects headed to the Nationals reportedly include Right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray, catcher Keibert Ruiz, right-handed pitcher Gerardo Carrillo and outfielder Donovan Casey.
The New York Yankees bolstered their lineup by acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and Anthony Rizzo via the Chicago Cubs.
The Bronx bombers parted with a combined six prospects and a pair of minor leaguers in both deals.