Notable quotes from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Aug. 6, 2021

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This article was published 06/08/2021 (1306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO – Here are some notable quotes from Canadians at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Aug. 6, 2021.

“We’re world-class at defending. We’re like 100-metre sprinters up top. We play to our strengths.”

— Canada captain Christine Sinclair after Canada’s victory over Sweden in the Olympic women’s soccer final.

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“Simple and plain. He deserves his flowers man, he shows up at every championship . . . Andre De Grasse is going to show up and come get medals. So, I’m just gonna big him up, this is my guy.

“Six medals. Six for six. Like Drake says, he’s a ‘6 God.'”

— Sprinter Aaron Brown on 4×100 relay teammate Andre De Grasse, who earned a sixth Olympic medal by leading the relay team to bronze.

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“I’m elated. I was off the podium five years ago and it hasn’t been an easy five years for me. It’s been a lot of mental checks, a lot of doubt, uncertainty, all those things. I put a lot of work into this, honest to God. That last 150 (metres), that’s what I thought about, the amount of work that I put in.”

—Distance runner Moh Ahmed, who won silver in the men’s 5,000 metres. The 30-year-old was fifth on the final turn but found the energy to pass three runners before the finish line. He was fourth in the 5,000 in Rio.

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“It’s absolute bollocks the excuse the IOC gives for why they’re getting out of the event. They don’t like it. It’s a free event. They can’t make money off of it.

“I think we’ve proven time and time again, it’s an exciting race, it’s an Olympic race. The 50k is the epitome of what it means to endure. It’s the longest foot race of the Olympic Games.”

—Race walk bronze medallist Evan Dunfee, who lambasted the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics for pulling the 50k from the Summer Games. The IOC says the decision was made in the name of gender balance because only men compete in the 50k.

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“It’s hard to say if that was the best performance we had in us. I don’t think so, but it wasn’t our worst. As athletes, we always want more and it’s heartbreaking.”

—Canadian canoe sprinter Andreanne Langlois after her team was eliminated from the women’s K-4 500.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2021.