London 2012: Canada's medal hopefuls this weekend - Toronto Star

The summer has never been Canada's season at the Olympics, but this weekend a stable of athletes sit poised to bring home a relative cornucopia of medals as the second half of the Games gets underway, and with it the summer sports Canadians can own.

SATURDAY

Five Canadian medal hopefuls will be in action. Canada's oldest Olympian, 65-year-old Ian Millar, will compete in the equestrian jumping competition's qualifying round for individual and team jumping. Nicknamed Captain Canada, Millar was first selected for Canada's equestrian team in 1971 and has gone on to represent the country in 10 Olympics, including London. With the London Games, he breaks the record for most Olympic Games for a Canadian athlete.

Millar will be going up against teammate and Beijing gold medallist in individual jumping Eric Lamaze. Lamaze's champion mount Hickstead died last November while competing in Italy and he'll be aboard Derly Chin De Muze at Greenwich Park (individual final Wednesday 7 a.m.).

Swimming star Ryan Cochrane, bronze medallist in Beijing, goes into the 1,500-metre final with the third fastest qualifying time. The distance race in the sport that has captivated fans in the first half of the Olympics will be at 2:36 p.m.

The women's triathlon begins at 4 a.m. and Canada's Paula Findlay will be competing. Going in as the underdog after an injury a year ago, Findlay was the first Canadian to win a World Championship Series event in the sport.

At 9 a.m., Toronto's Karen Cockburn will bounce for a spot on the podium in the trampoline event (final at 10:26 a.m.). This will be the fourth Games for Cockburn who already has three Olympic medals.

SUNDAY

Not to be overshadowed by Usain Bolt and the 100 metres, Canada is expected to pull in two medals from proven world champions on Sunday. Cyclist Zach Bell will ride in the final event in the six-part men's omnium (1:16 p.m.). Bell came in seventh in Beijing, but since then has won silver in the omnium event at the 2012 world championship, and gold in the same event at the 2011 worlds. Bell is one of two Canadian cyclists with the chance to make it to the podium in this event.

Fights begin Sunday to determine who will go up against pugilist Mary Spencer, the only Canadian competing in boxing at the Olympics. She makes her debut Monday (11 a.m.) after squeezing onto the team as a wild-card entry. She's out to prove her status as champion after the three-time world champion was dropped from No. 1 in the sport in fights leading up to the Olympics. Spencer has won eight Canadian championships and five Pan-American titles. This is the first year women's boxing will be in the Olympics and Spencer is still a medal favourite in the event as she represents both her country and culture.

"We don't get to see many Aboriginal athletes compete at the Olympics," said Spencer. "It's a huge sense of pride for the Aboriginal community in Canada."

MONDAY

Monday is another big day for Canadian medal hopefuls. Olympic kayak champion and three-time medallist Adam van Koeverden will race in the first heat of the K1 1,000 metres (4:30 a.m.). Most recently he won the 2011 world championship in the 1,000 in Szeged, Hungary.

"Every time I line up, my goal is to put together the best performance I possibly can," says van Koeverden on the Team Canada website. "I know that in the back of my mind, that's usually worth a medal or a win."

His teammate, Mark Oldershaw, will begin competing in the canoe single C1 1,000 (4:54 a.m.) as the heats kick off. Oldershaw won a spot on Canada's team after winning gold at a World Cup competition in May.

Round one of the women's 100 hurdles also begins Monday (5:05 a.m.) and Canadians Jessica Zelinka, Phylicia George and Nikkita Holder will compete for a chance to make it to Tuesday's final (4 p.m.).

Cyclist Tara Whitten is another athlete with high expectations surrounding her performance. She will be competing in the women's omnium (11:08 a.m.) in track cycling at the London Velodrome. This is the first Olympics for the PhD student in neuroscience.

STILL TO COME

Tuesday and beyond Canada has only a few other chances to occupy the podium. Triathlete Simon Whitfield, Olympic champion in Sydney and silver medallist in Beijing, will swim, run and bike through Hyde Park (Tuesday 6:30 a.m.) in an attempt to win a medal in his fourth Games. The 37-year-old is one of only a handful of triathletes to compete in all four Olympics since the event was introduced in 2000.

"I'm OK with it either way," Whitfield says. "If I'm successful, I will be at the park the next day with my two little girls. And if I'm not successful, I will be at the park the next day with my two little girls," he told the Star in July.

He will be joined at the start line by fellow Canadians Kyle Jones and Brent McMahon. Jones is Canada's top-ranked triathlete.

In the final stretch at the Games, daredevil Tory Nyhaug will ride in the men's BMX; wrestler Carol Huynh will step onto the mat to defend her 48-kg title; fresh out of retirement, two-time medallist Tonya Lynn Verbeek will contend in the 55-kg women's wrestling; Emily Batty will compete in her first Olympics in the cross-country mountain bike race and Francois Coulombe-Fortier will compete on the same day in taekwondo.