Canada will have its largest contingent of athletes at the Olympics since 1984 when the 2020 Summer Olympics get underway in Tokyo this week. That number includes 40 athletes that have previously reached the podium at the Summer Games. However, Canada sits well off the pace on the odds to win the most gold medals this time around, where they are set as a lengthy +50000 wager at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Canada’s Olympic contingent numbers 371, which marks a sizeable increase over the 314 athletes the nation sent to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics. But even with that increase, Canada faces a tough road in its bid to own the podium. The United States are coming off a dominating performance in 2016 when they racked up 46 total gold medals, 19 more than their closest rivals, and they have now taken home the most gold in five of the past six editions of the Summer Games.
Not surprisingly, the Americans once again lead the way as the Tokyo Games get set to open, set as -1000 favourites at online sports betting sites to win the most gold medals, and as heavy -2000 chalk to win the most medals overall. China once again represents the biggest threat to American Olympic dominance. China is the only nation to have won more gold at the Olympics than the United States at the Summer Games since 1992 with their haul of 48 gold medals as the host nation at the 2008 Olympics. China has finished second to the Americans in total medal count in each of the past three Olympics, and sports +650 odds to overtake the United States this time around.
This year’s host nation, Japan, sits third as a +2200 wager to win the most gold medals, but the Japanese team lags well behind the favourites as a +5000 wager on the odds to take home the biggest overall medal haul. A traditional presence among the top three in both gold medals and total medal count, Great Britain also faces lower expectations this time around, joining the Russian Olympic Committee as a +2800 wager to win the most gold, and sitting alongside Japan at +5000 on the overall Olympic medal odds.
While Canada sits well off the pace on the Olympic medal odds, there is no shortage of Canadian athletes poised to compete for gold. Canada’s women’s basketball team enjoyed a steady 12-game win streak prior to their disappointing exit in the semifinals of the recent FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, and sports +2200 odds to win the gold at the Olympic women’s basketball tournament. In addition, sprinter Andre De Grasse is set as the +350 second favourite to win gold in the men’s 200 metres, and sits at +1000 to win the men’s 100 metres.
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