You can’t blame Landon Currie if his mind wasn’t really on Thanksgiving dinner at the family home in Vernon.
Sure, he did make it to the home in time for turkey and all the fixings, but Currie had just flown from Xi’an, China after he and the Canadian men’s volleyball team qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“It’s still pretty surreal. It feels like I’ve been dreaming. I never thought at my age and at this stage in my career I’d have the opportunity to qualify for Olympics. Thought it would happen later on,” said Currie, who turns 24 on Oct. 16. “I don’t think it (qualifying) has fully hit me yet.”
Currie plays libero – a back-row defensive specialist – for Canada, which qualified for the Olympics Oct. 8 in China, by defeating Mexico 3-0, and getting help from Bulgaria, which upset Belgium 3-2. The Belgian loss came 24 hours after a 3-1 win over Currie and Canada.
Twelve teams will compete in men’s volleyball in Paris. As the host nation – and current men’s Olympic champs – France has an automatic berth. The other 11 places are allocated via a two-step qualification process.
The first step saw three pools of eight teams gather in China, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Olympics. Canada went 5-2 in Pool C, beating the Netherlands (3-2), Argentina (3-1), China (3-0), Bulgaria (3-0) and Mexico. Their losses came against Bulgaria and the pool winner Poland (3-2, 17-15 in deciding game).
“It’s unbelievable,” said Canadian head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo. “I’m just so happy for volleyball in Canada, and the history of what people have done for many years with this program to now consistently be in the Olympics (third consecutive appearance).
“I would like to thank the players, not only the ones here in China, but also those that have given so much effort to this program during the summer, as well as the coaching staff that have been part of the program. It’s an unbelievable moment and being in the Olympics is huge, as it represents the country.”
Germany and Brazil (Pool A) and the U.S.A. and Japan (Pool B) also qualified for Paris 2024.
The remaining five places will be filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB World Rankings as of the end of the Preliminary Phase of Volleyball Nations League 2024.
While Canada has qualified for the Olympics, it doesn’t mean Currie or any of his teammates are automatic selections for the team that will compete in Paris.
“Nobody is guaranteed a spot. We’ll have to earn it,” said Currie, who didn’t see any action at all in the qualifying tournament.
“That’s what happens when you play at this level. It was a mental battle but I had to remember we were trying to qualify for the Olympics.”
The national team will gather in the spring of 2024 for the Olympic team selection camp. Currie leaves this weekend for Nice, France, to begin his professional career in France’s premier men’s volleyball division.
Currie, who helped the Edmonton-based Alberta Golden Bears win the Canadian men’s university volleyball championship in 2022, wears No. 97 for Canada. That’s an homage to Edmonton’s most famous current athlete, Connor McDavid.
“I just love watching him play and I respect him off the ice,” said Currie, a former Vernon Minor Hockey sniper.
Canada has made it to the quarterfinals at the last two Olympics, finishing fifth in Rio in 2016, and eighth in Tokyo in 2024. The national men’s team’s best Olympic finish was fourth in 1984 in Los Angeles.
They were ninth in Montreal in 1976 and 10th in Barcelona in 1992 in their two other Olympic appearances.
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