The eyes of the world will be on Paris beginning this Friday as the 2024 Olympics are set to get underway.
Nova Scotia is sending 10 Olympians to Paris to compete for Team Canada, and three of them are former Dalhousie students. Over the course of the next two weeks, they’ll push themselves to their limits as they take on the best of the best from around the world. And then, just a couple of weeks later, the Paralympic Games begin — with another former Dal student on the world stage.
If you're following along with the Olympic Games, keep an eye out for these elite contenders!
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Ellie Black (artistic gymnastics)
Dal connection: Studied Kinesiology
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Olympics history: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
What to watch for: Black enters her third Olympic Games as one of Nova Scotia’s most renowned athletes and the most successful Canadian gymnast of all time. Her fifth-place finish in the women’s individual all-around at the Rio Olympics is considered a breakthrough performance for Canadian artistic gymnastics. In Tokyo, she earned Canada’s best-ever result in any women’s artistic gymnastics event, placing fourth in the beam final. A competitive gymnast since the age of nine, Black is a national champion, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and, in Paris, will become the first Canadian artistic gymnast to compete in four different Olympics.
When to watch: The women’s qualifying rounds for artistic gymnastics take place throughout the day on Sunday, July 28. The Team Final takes place on Tuesday, July 30, with the All-Around Final on Thursday, August 1. The finals for individual events take place August 3-5. Full schedule.
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Antonia Lewin-LaFrance (sailing)
Dal connection: Science alum and aspiring medical student
Hometown: Chester, Nova Scotia
Olympics history: This is her first Olympics
What to watch for: Lewin-LaFrance started sailing with a Laser sailboat as a kid, joining the Chester Yacht Club at the age of 8. Six years ago, after sailing in separate classes for most of their athletic careers, Antonia and her sister, Georgia, decided to team up and make a push for Paris. Named Sailing Canada’s Sailors of the Year in 2022, they qualified for Paris at the 49er and 49er FX World Championships in Spain this past March with a second-place finish in the medal race, bumping them up to eighth overall for the event. Three years earlier, in Oman, they finished sixth at the 49er FX World Championships — the best-ever Canadian performance at the event.
When to watch: Women’s dinghy races begin on August 1 and continue daily until the finals on August 6. Full schedule.
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Riley Melanson (canoe/kayak sprint)
Dal connection: Medical Sciences graduate
Hometown: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Olympics history: This is her first Olympics
What to watch for: Melanson is part of an impressive team of canoe/kayak paddlers Canada is sending to Paris this year. She’s scheduled to compete as part of the women’s K-4 500m kayak team that won silver at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago and which qualified for Paris with a tenth-place finish at the World Championships last year. Melanson also competed in the U23 World Championships in 2021 and 2022.
When to watch: The women’s K-4 500m qualifying heats take place on Tuesday, August 6, with the semis and finals taking place Thursday, August 8. Full schedule.
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Kamylle Frenette (paratriathlon)
Dal connection: Pharmacy alum
Hometown: Dieppe, New Brunswick
Paralympics history: Tokyo 2020
What to watch for: Inspired by her father’s example, Frenette began training and racing in triathlons in New Brunswick when she was 16. Born with a club foot, she excelled in cross-country running at both the Université de Moncton and, subsequently, as a Dalhousie Tiger — all while training as a paratriathlon athlete. Making the Paraolympic team for the 2020 games in Toyko, she earned an incredible fourth-place finish, which she followed up with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series in Montreal and the World Triathlon Para Cup Paris test event. She’s headed to Paris with incredible momentum: ranked fourth in the world in the women’s PTS5 event, she won her first World Triathlon Para Series event at the Montreal stop in June 2024 and took silver at the other two stops.
When to watch: The women’s PTS5 event is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 1. Full schedule.
Photo credits: Canadian Olympic Committee, Leah Hennel (COC), Sailing Energy, canoephotography.com/Bence Vekassy (ICF), Canadian Paralympic Committee.