2024 Olympics Day 14 Recap: Canada's 4x100 relay team wins gold, as women's beach volleyball team secures historic silver

Team Canada got off to a hot start on Day 14 with an early-morning bronze, followed by a miraculous gold in the men's 4x100 relay and a historic silver in beach volleyball

Team Canada's 4x100-metre relay team sprints to a gold medal, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson win silver in women's beach volleyball, as Sloan Mackenzie and Katie Vincent race to bronze in women's doubles 500-metre sprint canoe. (Photo credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images, Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images, Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)

While the watching experience and timing for the 2024 Paris Olympics isn't quite as challenging for Canadian viewers as it was for Tokyo 2020 or Beijing 2022, a good chunk of action during these Games happens when plenty of Canadians are fast asleep.

Whether you were crushing some zzz's, busy at work, had family activities to partake in or just didn't have a chance to tune in, we have you covered throughout these Olympics from start to finish.

Team Canada currently sits at 24 medals, which ties its highest-ever total at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics.

Here's what you may have missed on Day 14, including a stunning gold-medal relay race on the track, a record-setting silver in beach volleyball, and a bronze-medal finish in the canoe.

Andre de Grasse, of Canada, celebrates after winning the men's 4 x 100-meter relay final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Andre de Grasse, of Canada, celebrates after winning the men's 4 x 100-meter relay final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

For the second time in the country's history, the Canadian men's relay team is the fastest in the world.

In a stunning upset, Canada's quartet of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse came from behind to claim the gold medal in electrifying fashion in the men's 4x100 relay final on Friday, running a blistering 37.50s — a season's best time despite wet and soggy conditions inside Stade de France.

None of Canada's four runners even made the final in the men's 100-metre or 200-metre individual events.

De Grasse, who ran an incredible anchor leg despite a lingering hamstring injury, is now tied with swimmer Penny Oleksiak as Canada's most decorated Olympian with seven medals.

It's Canada's second-ever gold in the event, with the 1996 team featuring Donovan Bailey winning it all 28 years ago in Atlanta. The triumph brings Canada's medal count in Paris to 23, including seven gold.

While many were impressed with Canada's stunning race to gold, it appears not everyone was thrilled as a protest was launched against the Canadian men's relay team after the race.

Moments before the Canadian men raced to gold, the women's 4x100 team finished sixth in their final, with Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Eloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc running a time of 42.69 seconds.

Canada's Brandie Wilkerson, right, and Melissa Humana-Paredes celebrate a point in the women's beach volleyball gold medal match between Brazil and Canada, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Canada's Brandie Wilkerson, right, and Melissa Humana-Paredes celebrate a point in the women's beach volleyball gold medal match between Brazil and Canada, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

In a match where tensions boiled over late in the tie-breaking set, Canada fell to the top-ranked Brazlian duo of Ana Patrícia Ramos and Duda Lisboa in the women's beach volleyball final on Friday to claim a historic silver medal.

The Canadian squad of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson staved off three set points from Brazil — and had a couple of their own — before dropping the opening frame 26-24. The Canadian pair fought back to take the second set in dominant fashion, 21-12, but fell short in the third and final set as the Brazilians claimed gold.

The silver clinches Canada's best-ever finish and first-ever medal in women's beach volleyball. The medal also means Canada has officially tied its highest-ever medal total at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics at 24, with one day remaining in the 2024 Games.

Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes were guaranteed a medal after beating Switzerland's Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli in a three-set thriller on Thursday to advance to the gold-medal game.

Making Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes' silver-medal triumph all the more special is just how tough a path they took to get there. After an up-and-down run through the group stage, the Canadians had to take the "lucky loser" route just to reach the knockout stage — booking their ticket to the quarterfinals with a massive upset win over the No. 2-ranked American duo of Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss. Canada then knocked off Spain and Switzerland in the quarters and semis, respectively, to reach the final.

Canada has won just one other medal in Olympic beach volleyball, with Mark Heese and John Child claiming bronze in the men's beach event at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, with different partners, each lost in the quarterfinals in Tokyo before the former York University indoor teammates joined forces to form a new squad — a move that ended paying off incredibly well.

Canada's Sloan MacKenzie and Katie Vincent react after competing in the women's canoe double 500-meter heats at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Canada's Sloan MacKenzie and Katie Vincent react after competing in the women's canoe double 500-meter heats at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Katie Vincent and Sloan MacKenzie got Day 14 off to a great start, lifting Canada's medal haul in Paris to 22 with a third-place finish in the women's doubles 500-metre sprint canoe final.

Vincent and MacKenzie finished the final in one minute 54.36 seconds, behind China's Mengya Sun and Shixiao Xu, who won gold. The Canadian pair got off to a strong start before falling behind China and eventually getting caught by Ukraine, who made a late push to pick up the silver medal in a very close finish.

For Vincent, this is her second Olympic medal win after earning bronze in this very event three years ago in Tokyo. Vincent won that medal with former teammate Laurence Vincent-Lapointe.