Olympic viewing guide: It’s Summer time

The Paris Games have officially begun. Some 7,000 athletes from more than 200 countries on nearly 100 boats took an evening cruise down the Seine river toward the Eiffel Tower today for the pièce de résistance of the most ambitious Olympic opening ceremony ever.

Canadian flag-bearers Andre De Grasse and Maude Charron, both reigning Olympic champions, led their team on a large boat that also carried athletes from four other countries. About 200 Canadian athletes took part in the first opening ceremony in Summer Olympic history to be held outside of a stadium.

Pop music, all kinds of dancing and live performers complemented the floating parade, along with theatrical renditions of various things from Parisian history and culture — from the French Revolution to the Moulin Rouge. Lady Gaga helped kick things off with a cabaret-style performance, and French-Canadian star Céline Dion sang the closing number — her first public performance since revealing she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.

French soccer great Zinedine Zidane, and tennis stars Rafael Nadal of Spain and Serena Williams of the United States appeared during the final leg of the torch journey. Past French Olympic champions Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec lit the Olympic cauldron, which took flight under a hot-air balloon (a French invention).

Rain dampened the festivities a bit, as did this morning’s news that arsonists struck France’s high-speed rail network with a series of coordinated attacks, stranding an estimated quarter million people travelling to and from Paris.

Here in Canada, everything was overshadowed by troubling new developments in the Dronegate scandal involving the Olympic-champion women’s soccer team.

More on that below, followed by our viewer’s guide to the first full day of competition on Saturday. It features Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh in perhaps the most anticipated swimming race of these Games, and Canada’s men’s basketball opener against one of the biggest stars in the NBA.

Canada’s women’s soccer head coach got booted from the Games as the Dronegate scandal deepened

Bev Priestman was suspended for the rest of the Olympics last night after Canadian officials determined she was likely aware that team staffers were using drones to spy on an opponent’s practices in France.

Just to quickly recap the backstory: Priestman, a 38-year-old Englishwoman who guided Canada to its surprising Olympic gold medal in 2021, voluntarily sat out yesterday’s opening 2-1 win over New Zealand while assistant coach Jasmine Mander and performance analyst Joey Lombardi were sent home after the New Zealanders complained about a drone flying over two of their closed-door practice sessions in Saint-Etienne, about 500 kilometres from Paris. Lombardi was arrested by police there (drones are strictly prohibited in Olympic airspace) and they said he admitted to spying on New Zealand’s tactics. Priestman said she stepped aside for the opening match because she’s “ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,” but she denied that she directed the spying and Canadian Olympic Committee top executive David Shoemaker said Priestman was not involved in the drone use and had no knowledge of it.

Then, last night, Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue made the stunning announcement that the national governing body was suspending Priestman for the remainder of the Games after uncovering “additional information” about “previous drone use against opponents, predating” the Paris Games.” Around this time, TSN reported that the Canadian women’s and men’s soccer teams have been using drones to spy on opponents “for years.”

This morning, Shoemaker backtracked on his prior statement, saying new information showed Priestman was “highly likely” to have been aware that drones were used to view opposing practices in France. The COC boss also said there was evidence of spying at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, which could “tarnish” Canada’s gold-medal performance.

Blue, the Canada Soccer head, said this morning that the federation met with the players and that they “have not been involved in any unethical behaviour” and did not see any of the drone footage in France. He added that Canada Soccer has asked the International Olympic Committee and FIFA to consider that as they weigh possible sanctions against the team. Priestman’s future with the team, Blue said, will be decided upon completion of an investigation commissioned by the COC.

Retired goalie Steph Labbé, whose penalty-shootout saves were instrumental to Canada’s gold-medal victory in Tokyo, tweeted that she studied opponents’ tendencies on video but never watched drone footage. “Do not confuse great goalkeeping with cheating,” she wrote. Former captain Christine Sinclair, who retired from the national team last year, also said she was never shown video from a drone.

Blue also said the men’s national team “attempted drone usage” at the recent Copa America. He declined to give details but said he believes it did not impact the integrity of matches. Blue said Jesse Marsch only became aware of the activity after the fact.

John Herdman, who coached the Canadian men to the 2022 World Cup before leaving last year for Toronto FC, said today he’s “highly confident” that his teams were never involved in spying at an Olympic or World Cup tournament. Herdman led the Canadian women’s team from 2011 to 2018 before taking over the men’s.

With Priestman gone, assistant Andy Spence will continue as head coach for the rest of the Olympics. He guided yesterday’s win over New Zealand, where Canada fell behind early and needed a second-half goal from Cloé Lacasse to beat the world’s 28th-ranked team. New Zealand is arguably the worst team in the tournament, making the decision to risk spying on them with an illicit drone (at one of the most heavily guarded events on the planet!) all the more incomprehensible.

Canada’s next game is a tough one. They’ll face world No. 2 France on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in front of what’s sure to be a partisan crowd in Saint-Etienne, which I’m sure the Canadians can’t wait to leave.

Summer McIntosh can win her first (of probably many) Olympic medals tomorrow

Canada is in serious need of some good news right now. Luckily, here comes the country’s best Olympic athlete to help wash away the women’s soccer mess.

McIntosh made her Olympic debut three years ago in Tokyo as a 14-year-old, where she finished an impressive fourth in the stacked women’s 400-metre freestyle event. Since then, she’s developed into one of the best swimmers on the planet, winning back-to-back world titles in both the 400m individual medley and 200m butterfly along with four other medals at the world championships.

Though she doesn’t yet have the Olympic hardware to cement it, McIntosh is already the best swimmer Canada has ever produced. The 17-year-old phenom is favoured to win gold in her two best events and is one of the top medal contenders in her other two. She could also swim in up to four relays, giving her a good chance to surpass Penny Oleksiak’s four medals from 2016 in Rio — the Canadian record for a single Summer Games.

Saturday’s 400m freestyle is McIntosh’s toughest solo event. It remains absolutely loaded, with 2021 Olympic gold medallist and current world-record holder Ariarne Titmus of Australia favoured to repeat while seven-time Olympic winner Katie Ledecky looks to recapture the title she won in 2016 before taking silver in Tokyo and at the 2023 worlds. New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather beat out McIntosh for the bronze at the 2023 world championships and won gold at this year’s worlds, which the others skipped because they took place too close to the Olympics. A lot of swimming experts are calling this the best race of the entire Games.

The 400m freestyle starts with the heats at 5:12 a.m. ET, followed by the must-see final at 2:52 p.m. ET.

A little more than half an hour later, McIntosh could have a chance to win her second medal of the day in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Lineups aren’t revealed until closer to race time, and the team will have to get through the morning heats, but if McIntosh has enough left in the tank after her 400m final, she could help Canada challenge for the podium in the final at 3:34 p.m. ET.

Oleksiak is expected to swim for the 4×100 team as well. She didn’t qualify for any individual events in Paris, but she’ll have a chance to add to her all-time Canadian record seven Olympic medals in this and other relays.

Some other Canadians to watch Saturday

The men’s basketball team takes on a two-time NBA MVP. Canada’s first Olympic men’s basketball game in 24 years comes against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece at 3 p.m. ET. The Greek Freak won back-to-back MVPs in 2018 and ’19 and was the Finals MVP in 2021 when he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the championship. But Canada has a better team, led by this season’s MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fellow star guard Jamal Murray and a roster of almost all NBA players. The Canadians, who won bronze at the Basketball World Cup last year, are favoured to capture the country’s first Olympic hoops medal since 1936. Read more about Canada’s “Dream Team” here.

Tour de France standout Derek Gee makes his Olympic road cycling debut. Gee competed in track cycling three years ago in Tokyo, where he didn’t win a medal. Switching to the road, the 26-year-old finished ninth overall in his Tour de France debut on Sunday — the third-best result ever by a Canadian in cycling’s most prestigious event. He’ll race for a medal in the men’s time trial Saturday at 10:32 a.m. ET before doing the road race on Aug. 3.

Tennis players hit the clay courts of Roland Garros. Three of Canada’s four singles entries play their opening-round matches Saturday at the home of the French Open. In the women’s draw, 16th-seeded Leylah Fernandez faces Czech Karolina Muchova at 6 a.m. ET, immediately followed by Bianca Andreescu vs. Denmark’s Clara Tauson on the same court. Later, Fernandez and Gabriela Dabrowski team up for their women’s doubles opener. On the men’s side, 13th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime faces American Marcos Giron after 7 a.m. ET. Milos Raonic plays Germany’s Dominik Koepfer on Sunday.

And finally…

The oldest member of Canada’s Olympic team lost her spot. Sixty-one-year-old equestrian rider Jill Irving was named to her first Olympic Games after helping Canada to a team gold at the 2019 Pan American Games. But she was removed from the dressage squad today because her horse, Delacroix, was deemed not healthy enough to compete. Irving will now serve as an alternate with another horse, Genesis, when equestrian competition begins Saturday at Chateau de Versailles. “It’s kind of heartbreaking,” Irving said, but “we’re really about horse welfare and horses first.” Read more here.

How to watch the Olympics

Live events are being broadcast on the CBC TV network, TSN and Sportsnet. Or choose exactly what you want to watch by live streaming on CBC Gem or CBC Sports’ Paris 2024 website and app.

Highlights of CBC Sports’ digital coverage include Paris Tonight with host Ariel Helwani, live every night at 11 p.m. ET from Canada Olympic House in Paris; Rise and Stream with host Meg Roberts, identifying the key events to watch each day; Hot Takes with host Dale Manucdoc, highlighting must-see moments; and Paris Pulse with Meg and Dale, discussing trending stories from the Games.

You can also test your Olympic knowledge and win prizes on The Game, a nightly trivia contest with host Craig McMorris. Read more about CBC’s multi-platform Olympics coverage here.