It was the story Canadians didn't want to end.
Blair Bann and his Canadian teammates catch fire in men's Olympic volleyball, knock off some world heavyweights, and ride the momentum all the way to the podium. Unfortunately, on Wednesday the mighty Russians provided the rude awakening. The Russian team pounded the ball into the Canadian side of the floor for a straight set victory (25-15, 25-20, 25-18), knocking Canada from the tournament.
Bann and his Canadian teammates will have to take solace in the fact they advanced farther than any men's Olympic volleyball team since 1984 and qualified for the first time since 1992.
"Just qualifying was really big for our country," Bann told CBC News after the match. "To do well and win some games here against some top-ranked teams, hopefully it keeps us going in the right direction and we don't stop here, we keep going, keep improving."
UBC School of Kinesiology graduate and Thunderbirds track and field star
Luc Bruchet had a magical 5000 metre run in Edmonton last month to qualify for his first Olympic games. The run stirred his hometown of White Rock into frenzy. Today in Rio, Bruchet ran well but couldn't cross the finish line in time to make the Olympic final. His time of 14:02.02 was good enough for 37th place in qualifying.
"Pretty sweet to share such an awesome experience with friends and family!" exclaimed Bruchet in an Instagram post.
This was the 25 year-old Bruchet's first Olympic appearance after only taking up distance running a few years ago. Before taking on the 5000 metre he specialized in the 400 and 800 metre races.
