BIRMINGHAM, England — The 2022 Commonwealth Games are introducing the next generation of Island and overall Canadian international summer athletes on the road to Paris 2024, which is exactly what these Commonwealth Games and next year’s 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, were designed to do.
Anna Mollenhauer, 22, of Victoria, who will patrol the Canadian women’s field-hockey midfield for the next decade, plays host England today after Canada’s opening 4-0 victory against Wales. While the result was opposite for the youthful Canadian men in a 5-1 opening loss to Wales, rising forward Harbir Sidhu of Victoria is part of the rebuilding process. Summer McIntosh, the 15-year-old swim sensation who qualified for the Birmingham Games through the Canadian trials held at Saanich Commonwealth Place in April, is set to be a massive story in Paris and began the Commonwealth Games with gold and bronze over two days, with more to come.
The young Langford-based Canadian men’s and women’s rugby sides, meanwhile, displayed promise at Coventry Stadium in both making the Commonwealth Games championship-side playoff rounds in daunting fields.
The Canadian women finished 2-1 in group play to qualify for the semifinals Saturday before falling 24-7 to Tokyo Olympic silver-medallists Fiji and will play Tokyo Olympic-champion New Zealand, 17-12 semifinal losers to Australia, for the bronze medal today. Playing for a medal will be a heady moment for Renee Gonzalez and Krissy Scurfield, 19, from the University of Victoria Vikes, Fancy Bermudez, 20, from Westshore RFC and Piper Logan, 21, in her national team debut.
“I can’t wait for the next eight years,” said Canada head coach Jack Hanratty, of the upcoming generation.
The only connection remaining to the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist team is veteran player Bianca Farella.
“This is a new generation for Paris 2024 and I have confidence in it. Our whole vibe is confidence. That’s why I’m still here,” she said.
Farella, 30, said she is there as a sounding board for this young group.
“Bianca’s attitude is incredible,” said Hanratty.
“It’s almost like she’s the new kid on the block. Her energy is incredible and she buys into what the young players are doing, whether it’s Tik Tok or whatever.”
The Canadian rugby men also stated their case for the future here at these Games. The Canadian men went 2-1 in group play to qualify for the quarter-finals before losing 33-0 to the South Africa Blitzboks. Reaching the quarter-finals was a credible performance for a Canadian side rebuilding after the retirement of veteran stalwarts Connor Braid of Victoria, former UVic Vikes star Nathan Hirayama and Harry Jones following their quarter-final appearance in the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Among the emerging generation here at the Games are Island players Anton Ngongo out of Claremont Secondary, Lachlan Kratz from Oak Bay and Ciaran Breen out of Shawnigan Lake School.
“I watched that older group while growing up, and talked to them all the time when we trained alongside in Langford as juniors and development athletes, and always got good feedback,” said Ngongo.
“It’s a passing of the torch.”
Canada plays Samoa today in the fifth-to-eighth place men’s semifinals. This multi-sport experience is important on several levels.
“It’s good to experience athletes at the peak of their various sports and to see how they handle things,” said Ngongo.
These Games are an important springboard for this group, added Kratz.
“I always dreamed of playing on the world stage,” said the 22-year-old Islander, who has played in Major League Rugby for New Orleans.
“I played in the Youth Commonwealth Games in Nassau, and now to play in the real Commonwealth Games is a dream come true, and Paris 2024 would be the ultimate dream.”
The Canadian highlight Saturday was Tokyo Olympic-champion Maggie Mac Neil’s swimming gold medal in the women’s 100-metre butterfly. But another Canadian Tokyo Olympic champion, Kelsey Mitchell, was shunted to the silver medal by Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand in the women’s cycling sprint event.
Canada was fifth in total medals after two days of competition with 11 medals following Australia’s 32, England’s 21, New Zealand’s 13 and Scotland’s 12.
