Canadian Women Dominated in 2021; Can They do it Again in 2022?

Canadian women had a successful Olympics last summer in Tokyo. Now that the calendar has flipped and the season has changed, can they find the same success in Beijing?

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Games (which took place in 2021 due to Covid-19) saw Team Canada win seven gold, six silver and 11 bronze medals for a total of 24 medals. Out of the 24 medals, women were responsible for 18, contributing five gold, five silver and eight bronze.

At the last Winter Games, in PyeongChang in 2018, Canada dominated finishing third in the medal standings with 11 gold and 29 medals overall. Those games saw 11 medals won by women and an additional five came from mixed events, which means women contributed to 16 medals for Canada.

Beijing however, is a little bit of a wildcard for Canada, with the emergence of some athletes and the departure of others, Canada’s medal spread could look different.

Departed Athletes

One of the stories of the 2018 Olympics was Canada’s figure skating team. They won gold in the Team Event and the Ice Dance, as well as bronze in the Pairs and Women’s events. Canada will have to carry on without the duo of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Kaetlyn Osmond, Gabrielle Daleman, Patrick Chan and Meagan Duhamel, who all helped Canada win gold in the Team Event. Virtue and Moir also won gold in their own event, Osmond won bronze and Duhamel won bronze with her pairs partner Eric Radford, who is going to be competing alongside Vanessa James in Beijing.

Alex Gogh had also retired after the 2018 Olympics. The Luge athlete contributed to two medals for Canada, winning bronze in Women’s Singles and silver in the Mixed Team Relay.

Kelsey Serwa is another Olympic medalist that has retired from competition. She had won gold in Ski Cross in PyeongChang.

One of the more notable female athletes is Bobsledder Kaillie Humphries who has not retired, but after a fallout with the Canadian program, she will now compete on the American flag. Canada is losing arguably the best in the world after she won a bronze medal with partner Phylicia George last time around.

It's without question that Canada will be without some key female athletes that have contributed to their overall success. After all, in this list alone, there are eight medals up for grab for either other Canadian or other countries.

Looking to Defend

On the other hand, there are athletes and teams looking to defend or improve on their medals.

Cassie Sharpe will look to defend her gold medal in the Women’s Ski-Halfpipe, while Laurie Blouin will look for the podium once more after a silver medal in Snowboard-Slopestyle. Brittany Phelan was the Ski-Cross runner up to Kelsey Serwa in 2018. Now with the defending gold medalist out of the way, Phelan will look to secure that gold medal.

In curling, Kaitlyn Lawes will look to win gold again but this time on the women’s side of the draw as she qualified with skip Jennifer Jones. As for Team Canada defending their Mixed Doubles gold, John Morris will return, this time with Rachel Homan, who was the skip for the women's team in South Korea.

Another storyline from 2018 was Speed Skater Kim Boutin. In her Olympic debut, she won three medals, a silver in the 1000m and bronze in the 500m and 1500m short track events. Going into these games as one of Canada’s high-profile athletes, Boutin will look to build off her experience and improve the colour of the medal.

Justine Dufour-Lapointe is another Canadian athlete that should get a lot of attention come February. As the youngest of the three sisters, she had the pleasure of sharing the podium with her sister Chloé at the 2014 games in Sochi, where they finished first and second. In 2018, Justine finished second and will look to take back gold in Beijing.

One event Canadians will have their eye on is Women’s Hockey. After the United States put an end to Canada’s streak of five straight gold medals, Canada will not settle for another silver. Needless to say, this should be one of the most viewed events in Canada.

Looking for the Podium

After disappointing results in both Men’s and Women’s Curling, in order to keep up with the 29 medals they had last time out, Canadian curlers will have to find the podium once again. Jennifer Jones is one of Canada’s most decorated curlers ever, and has prior Olympic experience after winning gold in Sochi, eight years ago. She has shown that she is more than capable of handling big-time moments.

With Women’s Monobob making its Olympic debut, Canada's Cynthia Appiah has proven to be Canada’s best chance for a medal, finishing third in the IBSF standings. She is one to watch as she competes against former Canadian Olympian Kaillie Humphries.

In Ski-Cross Marielle Thompson will look to find the podium after a disappointing 2018 Olympics. The Sochi 2014 gold medalist who suffered an injury prior to PyeongChang and just prior to Beijing, is looking to reclaim her spot on the podium.

One event to pay close attention to is Women’s Long Track Speed Skating. The trio Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais have been a dominant force in Team Pursuit events. The trio have the ability to bring home a few medals as they also compete in their individual events.

Canadian Women in a Good Position

Canadian Women carried Team Canada on their backs in Tokyo winning 75% of the medals. There is no doubt that Canada’s female athletes will find success. The percentage of medals may not be as high as they were in Tokyo, however they will certainly earn their fair share. We are in for some strong and memorable performances in Beijing.