Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Canadian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the country's support for the United States-led boycott. Canada sent a total of 281 athletes to the Games to compete in 24 sports. With the initiation of its "Own the Podium" programme, the COC set a goal of finishing in the top 12 for total medals; but the nation came up short of this goal, finishing 13th in the medal standings. Canada matched its total medal count from Beijing 2008, finishing the event with 18 medals: two gold, six silver and 10 bronze.
Canada left London with a single gold medal, awarded to trampoline gymnast Rosannagh MacLennan in the women's event. This was its lowest count of golds in a Summer Olympic games since 1976. However, weightlifter Christine Girard, initially the bronze medallist in the women's 63 kg event, was subsequently upgraded to the gold medal position in April 2018 following the disqualification of the gold and silver medallists. This raised Canada's gold medal count to two, which still remained the nation's lowest count since 1976, where it failed to win a gold despite being the host.
Prior to Girard's being upgraded to the gold medal, Canada's performance had broken the record for the highest total medal count for a nation with only one gold medal. This was despite several Canadian athletes just missing out of the medal finishes, including the men's 4 x 100 m sprint relay team, who were disqualified after finishing in third. Canada left London with 5 silver and 11 bronze medals. The media nicknamed this the "Bronze Games" for Canada due to the disproportionate number of bronze medals won (compared to the solitary gold medal) compared to previous Olympics. Diving pair Émilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel won the nation's first medal in the women's synchronized springboard event. Heymans became the first Canadian athlete to win Olympic medals in four consecutive games. Canada also won the bronze medal match in the women's soccer tournament, the first for the nation since 1904, and the first in a traditional team sport since 1936.
Medallists
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Medal hopes
Several Canadian athletes, considered as strong medal contenders, missed out of the podium during their final events. The men's sprint relay team, led by Jared Connaughton, held the third fastest time in the finals, but were later disqualified for a lane violation. Trampoline gymnasts Jason Burnett and Karen Cockburn missed out of winning another Olympic medal for the first time. Triathlete and two-time Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield was forced to withdraw from the men's event after suffering minor injuries from a bike crash. Springboard diver and medal favourite Alexander Despatie made a disappointing performance in the men's final event, finishing only in eleventh place. Track cyclist Tara Whitten finished fourth in a grueling two-day women's omnium event, when she was a former two time world champion in the event. Other medal failures included the female badminton team's defeat in the bronze medal match, defending champion Eric Lamaze, who failed to advance into the finals in the individual jumping event, and fourth-place finishes in swimming, specifically in the women's 4x200 freestyle relay event, and in synchronized swimming.
Delegation
The Canadian Olympic Committee selected a team of 281 athletes, 119 men and 153 women, to compete in all sports except handball and field hockey. The nation's team size was roughly smaller by 60 athletes from the previous games. Along with the nation's athletes, Canada also sent a team of 93 coaches and 137 members from the mission staff. For the second time in its Olympic history, Canada was represented by more female than male athletes. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 45 competitors.