There will always be surprises and disappointments at the London 2012 Olympics, but here are Canada's best bets to reach the podium. Scroll through our slideshow of athletes or read on below.
Here is a look at Canada's best Olympic medal hopes at London 2012Clara Hughes
Age 39
Home Glen Sutton, Que.
Sport Cycling
Events Road race, time trial
Hughes might be Canada's greatest Olympian of all time. She is the only one to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. And with a single medal in London, she would break a tie with fellow speedskater Cindy Klassen for the most medals won by a Canadian Olympian. They both have six. Hughes won bronze medals in the road race and time trial in the 1996 Games in Atlanta and won gold in both events at last October's Pan American Championships. Her best shot for a medal is in the time trial, an event in which she has finished on the podium several times this season.
Final: Sun., July 29 (road race); Wed., Aug. 1 (time trial)
Catharine Pendrel
Age 31
Home Kamloops, B.C.
Sport Cycling
Event Cross-country mountain biking
Pendrel first made waves by finishing fourth at the Beijing Games. She has been improving since then, now ranked first in the world. She won the World Championships last year in Champery, Switzerland and won a recent test event at Hadleigh Farm, the Olympic venue for the race. She has won five of the last World Cup races, never finishing worse than sixth. Pendrel won a competition on CBC's website asking people to vote for Canada's flag bearer, beating out the COC's choice, Simon Whitfield, with 50.8% of the vote.
Final: Sat., Aug. 11
Brent Hayden
Age 28
Home Mission, B.C.
Sport Swimming
Events 100-metre freestyle, 50-metre freestyle, 4×100-metre freestyle relay
Hayden's 2008 Olympic experience was bitterly disappointing. A strong contender to medal after entering the Games as the defending world champion in the 100-metre freestyle, Hayden did not qualify for the final. He will look to improve in what is likely his last Olympics, entering as the defending world silver medallist at the distance. He won the gold medal in the event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He has been working on his starts and turns and if he can get close to his Canadian record time of 47.27, it should put him in the mix for a medal.
Finals: Sun., July 29 (relay), Wed., Aug. 1 (100-metre freestyle), Fri., Aug. 3 (50-metre freestyle)
Dylan Armstrong
Age 31
Home Kamloops, B.C.
Sport Athletics
Event Shot put
No Canadian male has won an Olympic medal in track and field since 1996, when Donovan Bailey (in the 100 metres) and the 4×100 men's relay team won gold. Armstrong is the only reasonable shot to break that streak. He won the silver medal in shot put at last year's world championships and won gol at the Pan American Games. He missed out on a medal by a single centremetre in Beijing. Armstrong's year did not get off to a good start, as he had to pull out of the world indoor championships with an arm injury. He has recovered since then. Armstrong enters London ranked third in the world in the event.
Final: Fri., Aug. 3
Adam van Koeverden
Age 30
Home Oakville, Ont.
Sport Canoe/kayak
Event K-1 1,000-metre sprint
Van Koeverden enters London with a medal of each colour, winning gold and bronze in Athens and silver in Beijing. Since the last Olympics, he has dropped the 500-metre race, which is responsible for his gold and silver medals, from his repertoire. It seems to be working for him: He won the gold medal at last year's world championships in Szeged, Hungary. Van Koeverden entered Beijing with tremendous expectations, serving as Canada's flag-bearer at both the 2004 Closing Ceremony and 2008 Opening Ceremony. He has receded a bit from the spotlight since, but still stands as one of the country's best medal threats.
Final: Wed., Aug. 8
Simon Whitfield
Age 37
Home Victoria
Sport Triathlon
Event Triathlon
The architect of two of the most indelible moments in recent Canadian Olympic history, Whitfield will carry the flag into Olympic Stadium in his final Games. In 2000, Whitfield won gold in Sydney; in 2008, he won silver in Beijing on the strength of an exceptional final kilometre. At 37, it would be a surprise if Whitfield medals in London — the favourites are Spain's Javier Gomez, Russia's Alexander Bryukhankov and Britain's Brownlee brothers, Jonathan and Alistair. But Whitfield has a flair for the dramatic. "We're giving this the absolute best crack we can," Whitfield told the Post's Bruce Arthur in June. "It's a pretty monumental challenge, to be completely honest."
Final: Tues., Aug. 7
Mary Spencer
Age 27
Home Windsor, Ont.
Sport Boxing
Event Middleweight
Spencer was surprisingly eliminated from the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in the first round, and needed a wild-card invitation to get to London. A failure to make it, following the Cover Girl commercials and the like, would have been embarrassing. Spencer will look for redemption on the grandest stage. She was a world champion in 2005, 2008 and 2010 and is the reigning Pan Am champion.
Final: Thurs., Aug. 9
Jennifer AbeL
Age 20
Home Laval, Que.
Sport Diving
Events Three-metre springboard, three-metre synchronized springboard
The Canadian diving team has a few medal threats, including veteran Alexandre Despatie. Abel is the best bet for a finish on the podium. She won two medals at last year's world championships in Shanghai, winning silver with teammate Emilie Heymans, herself a three-time Olympic medallist, in the synchronized event. Abel also won a pair of golds at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Finals: Sun., July 29 (synchronized), Sun., Aug. 5, (individual)
Carol Huynh
Age 31
Home Calgary
Sport Wrestling
Event 48-kg freestyle
In one of the most memorable moments in Beijing, Huynh upset two-time reigning world champion Icho Chiharu of Japan to win Canada's first gold medal of the Games. She blew kisses to her family in the crowd, then sobbed when O Canada was played to honour her win. Huynh will headline a team in London with four medal threats.She is the reigning Pan-Am and Commonwealth Games champion. She lost the bronze-medal bout at the 2011 world championships after finishing third in 2010.
Final: Wed., Aug. 8
Jason Burnett
Age 25
Residence Nobelton, Ont.
Sport Gymnastics
Event Trampoline
Canada has a strong history in trampoline at the Olympics. Karen Cockburn has medalled in her three Olympic appearances, while Matthew Turgeon (2000) and Burnett (2008) have medals on the men's side. Burnett holds the world record for the most difficult trampoline routine in practice and competition. The issue will not be the difficulty of his routine in London, but his execution.
Final: Fri., Aug. 3
Eric Lamaze
Age 44
Home Schomberg, Ont.
Sport Equestrian
Event Jumping
The winner of two Olympic medals in Beijing — gold in individual jumping and silver in team jumping — Lamaze will have to overcome the loss of his 15-year-old horse, Hickstead. Lamaze will ride Derly Chin de Muse, a nine-year-old horse that shows promise but is still young and somewhat unpredictable. Perhaps more realistic is another medal in the team event.
Finals: Mon., Aug. 6 (team jumping); Wed., Aug. 8
(individual jumping)
Bev Wake, Postmedia Team, and Eric Koreen, National Post
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