New generation of Montreal athletes eye Los Angeles 2028 Olympics

Nearly 50 years after Montreal welcomed the world for the 1976 Olympics, a new generation of Canadian athletes is chasing its own Olympic dream at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Caroline Moquin-Joubert, receiver for Team Canada's women's flag football team, said competing at the Olympics would represent the achievement of a lifetime. "All the hard work, perseverance, determination and being able to wear the Canada jersey is just an unmatched feeling," she said. Teammate Sara Parker added: "The pride of wearing the Maple Leaf. It's years and years of preparation, years and years of sacrifices and hard work. So, it's really a privilege to be able to wear the national team jersey."

Montrealers themselves recognize the city's sports culture as a breeding ground for Olympic talent. "We have so much culture of sports here. Hockey is home for a lot of Canadians and generally I would say every single person who lives hockey also is enthused about soccer, enthused about all other things, Olympics," said resident Ilkay Deneyci.

Moquin-Joubert spoke to the path from university sport to the national team. "Being able to play hockey and flag football at the university level and realizing that it's not the end after university, I could continue and I could perform in Team Canada flag football was just amazing," she said. "Like a dream come true."

However, some observers note that elite athletes in Quebec still face significant obstacles. Sports reporter Jeremy Filosa of 98.5 FM Sports said that high-level athletes "don't have the prerequisites here at this moment to be able to train adequately, to be able to participate in Olympic games and be at their best." He attributed the challenge partly to public backlash over spending on sports projects following the 1976 Olympics. "Everything related to sports in this province has sort of become taboo because so much money was spent on the Olympics that right now, anytime you talk to anybody about a sports project here and any form of financing from the government gets a massive pushback from people in general," Filosa said.

Despite the challenges, Moquin-Joubert remains focused on earning her place in Los Angeles. "If I'm able to dream big obviously in 2028, I would love to be on Team Canada again and try to make my spot and compete at the Olympic Games would be a dream."