Canada was left off the podium for the first time in nine days at the Tokyo Olympics, but the womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer team guaranteed that wonB次元官网网址檛 be the case on Friday.

Jessie Fleming scored on a 74th-minute penalty as the Canadians edged the United States B次元官网网址� their longtime nemesis B次元官网网址�1-0 in a semifinal Monday at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium.

That means the Canadians will win their third straight Olympic medal. And this time, the colour wonB次元官网网址檛 be bronze. Canada finished third both at the 2012 London Games and four years later in Rio de Janeiro, and the team had stated that this time they wanted an upgrade.

B次元官网网址淏ack-to-back bronzes, we were kind of sick of that,B次元官网网址� team captain Christine Sinclair said. B次元官网网址淎nd this team, I mean, wow, what a performance, what a fight. Just so proud of our team, and one more to go.B次元官网网址�

Canada will face Sweden for gold on Friday at TokyoB次元官网网址檚 Olympic Stadium. Sweden advanced with a 1-0 win over Australia in the other semifinal.

Canada remained at 14 medals (three gold, four silver, seven bronze), good for 14th spot on the medal table. Overall, Canada has the 12th most medals.

China leads the medal table with 29 gold, seven more than the United States. Overall, the Americans have the most medals with 64. China has 62.

The last time Canada and the United States met in Olympic soccer was in the semifinals of the London Games. In a wildly entertaining contest, the Americans won 4-3 in extra time despite a hat trick from Sinclair.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 previous victory over the Americans was a 3-0 decision at the Algarve Cup in March 2001. The Americans hold a decisive 51-4-7 record in head-to-head matches between the teams.

Canada dropped a 1-0 decision to the U.S. when the teams last met at the SheBelieves Cup in February.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e played the U.S. so many times but this time around we came into this tournament with the mindset of changing the colour of the medal. And we showed that. IB次元官网网址檓 just super proud of the team,B次元官网网址� defender/midfielder Ashley Lawrence said.

20 years in the making. |

B次元官网网址� Team Canada (@TeamCanada)

Canada has a 5-14-4 record against Sweden, with the last result being a 1-0 loss in the round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA WomenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup.

Meanwhile, itB次元官网网址檚 four up, four down for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 top-ranked beach volleyball duo B次元官网网址� and theyB次元官网网址檝e done it without dropping a single set.

TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ont., remain perfect at the Tokyo Olympics after winning their round-of-16 match.

The Canadian duo dispatched SpainB次元官网网址檚 Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo McMillan 2-0, overpowering their opponents 21-13, 21-13.

Humana-Paredes and Pavan, the reigning world champions, have won all four of their pool matches 2-0.

Canada is the only country with two teams left in the tournament.

Humana-Paredes and Pavan will face AustraliaB次元官网网址檚 Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua Clancy in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

That match will be held right after Heather Bansley of Waterdown, Ont., and TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Brandie Wilkerson play LatviaB次元官网网址檚 Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka in their quarterfinal matchup.

B次元官网网址淣ormally at this stage there would be two Americans or two Brazilians but youB次元官网网址檙e seeing two Canadians now and I think that says a lot about our program and our federation,B次元官网网址� said Humana-Paredes. B次元官网网址淚 think as a country we should be really proud of where we are.B次元官网网址�

Humana-Paredes and Pavan have been dominant since they first partnered together five years ago. TheyB次元官网网址檝e reached the finals at 14 international events and won seven, including the 2019 world title and a 2018 Commonwealth Games gold.

In track and field, TotontoB次元官网网址檚 Matthew Hughes raced to sixth in the menB次元官网网址檚 3,000-metre steeplechase in eight minutes 16.03 seconds. ItB次元官网网址檚 the best result by a Canadian in an event dominated by runners from African nations. VancouverB次元官网网址檚 John Gay was 15th.

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In the womenB次元官网网址檚 5,000 metre final, Andrea Seccafein of Guelph, Ont., finished 15th.

SaskatoonB次元官网网址檚 Anicka Newell qualified for the final of the womenB次元官网网址檚 pole vault with a successful attempt of 4.55 metres.

Earlier, two sisters from Toronto are through to the semifinals of the 1,500 metres.

Gabriela Debues-Stafford won her heat in four minutes 3.70 seconds ahead of BritainB次元官网网址檚 Laura Muir to qualify for WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 first semifinal. Her younger sister Lucia Stafford finished seventh with a personal-best time of 4:03.52 and advanced to the second semifinal.

B次元官网网址淚 have my eyes on something big in the finals, so IB次元官网网址檓 happy to get the first round done,B次元官网网址� said Debues-Stafford. B次元官网网址淚 felt really good doing it.B次元官网网址�

Natalia Hawthorn of North Vancouver, B.C., came in 10th in her heat and was eliminated.

TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Crystal Emmanuel failed to advance to the finals of the 200 metres despite a bounce-back performance that saw her win her heat with a season-best time of 22.74 seconds. Her semifinal effort fell short of her earlier speed as she finished sixth in 23.05.

There were some mixed results for Canada in canoe sprint.

Andr茅anne Langlois of Lac Beauport, Que., and Michelle Russell of Fall River, N.S., qualified for the 200-metre kayak single semifinals. Langlois won her quarterfinal in 41.728 seconds. Russell narrowly advanced, beating out BritainB次元官网网址檚 Emily Lewis by five thousandths of a second.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 glad to be on the right side of the photo finish,B次元官网网址� said Russell. B次元官网网址淚 had no idea where I was for the whole race. When we crossed the line, Emily Lewis right next to me, weB次元官网网址檙e looking at each other and didnB次元官网网址檛 know what was going on.B次元官网网址�

The menB次元官网网址檚 team of Roland Varga and Connor Fitzpatrick advanced to the 1,000-metre canoe double semifinal.

But Simon McTavish of Oakville, Ont., was eliminated from the 1,000 kayak singles. The team of Alanna Bray-Lougheed and Madeline Schmidt failed to progress in the 500-metre kayak double.

In wrestling, Danielle Lappage of Olds, Alta., lost her opening womenB次元官网网址檚 68-kilogram match 7-0 to Russian wrestler Khanum Velieva and failed to advance to the quarterfinal.

B次元官网网址淚 was really confident, I had a good feeling and I just thought it would have ended differently,B次元官网网址� said Lappage.

Also not moving on is the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 basketball team, which needed help in MondayB次元官网网址檚 final slate of group stage games after finished third in its pool at 1-2. The Canadians didnB次元官网网址檛 get it and ended up ninth in the combined rankings, one spot out of a quarterfinal berth.

Away from the venues, Halifax gymnast Ellie Black confirmed she will participate in TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 balance beam final. BlackB次元官网网址檚 participation was in doubt after she pulled out of last weekB次元官网网址檚 womenB次元官网网址檚 all-around final with a sprained left ankle.

The Canadian Press

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