Pan American Canoe Federation activities

Continental Olympic Qualifiers

We worked closely with the commissions and organising committees of the Olympic qualifiers for Canoe Slalom and Canoe Sprint, which took place in March and April of this year, respectively. These meetings focused on coordinating the organisational and logistical aspects to ensure the success of the competitions and the correct qualification of the athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Americas Paralympic Committee 

COPAC held meetings with the Americas Paralympic Committee to discuss the progress of Paracanoeing on the continent. As a result of these conversations, a formal request and report were sent to include Paracanoe in the 2027 Para Pan American Games, highlighting its growing development and relevance.

Panamsport 

Multiple meetings have been held with Panamsport, focused on planning and organising Canoe Sprint events for the Pan American Youth Games in Asuncion, Paraguay, in August of next year. The collaboration with Panamsport has been critical to guarantee the success of these competitions and ensure that canoeing will play a prominent role in the event. These meetings reflect COPAC's efforts to strengthen canoeing in the region and promote its inclusion in the continent's major sporting events. 

American dream in Paris

Canoe Sprint 

American Canoe Sprint athletes concluded the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with an outstanding performance, achieving five medals and some notable finishes, consolidating themselves as a competitive force in this discipline.  

The athletes include gold medallist Katie Vincent of Canada in the canoe single 200m women, silver medallists Isaquias Queiroz of Brazil in the C1 1000m and Nevin Harrison of the United States in the C1 200m and bronze medallists Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys of Cuba in the C1 200m and Sofia Mackenzie and Vincent of Canada in the C2 200m.    

The success in the sprint was particularly outstanding in the women's C1 200m, where athletes from the continent dominated the podium, highlighting the technical level and continuous development in the Americas.  

Although all the medals were obtained in the canoe, six good finishes were achieved, of which three were in the kayak. An outstanding fourth place for Argentine athlete Agustin Vernice in the kayak single 1000m, giving his country the best place ever in the Olympic Games, two eighth place finishes - one in the women's K1 500m by the experienced Canadian athlete Michel Russell and the other in K2 500m men by Jonas Ecker and Aaron Small of the United States. 

These Olympic Games closed the cycle with one more medal than Tokyo 2020, where America had won four medals.

Canoe Slalom

In Paris 2024 one American Canoe Slalom paddler stood on the podium compared to none at Tokyo 2020. Evy Leibfarth of the United States won a historic bronze in the women's canoe single. A fifth place in this same event went to Brazilian athlete Ana Satila, with the 19th place to Lois Betteridge from Canada completing the participation of the continent in the event.   

In the women's kayak single, Satila finished fourth, which is historic for both Brazil and South America. Leibfarth finished in 15th place, Betteridge from Canada got 20th place and Sofia Reinoso from Mexico came in 25th place - results that represent a breakthrough in the women's Canoe Slalom.  

In the men's kayak single, Pedro Goncalves of Brazil finished in 18th place and Alex Baldoni of Canada in 21st. In men's canoe single, Alex Baldoni of Canada finished in 15th place, Casey Eichfeld of the USA in 16th place and Goncalves in 18th place. The countries that represented the American continent were Brazil (2 athletes), Canada (2 athletes), Mexico (1 athlete) and the United States (2 athletes).

Paralympic Games

It was an amazing event for the Americas with some outstanding performances in Paracanoe. Much success was achieved, winning more medals than ever, and seeing improved performances by many of the athletes.  

Of the 100 participants, 15 of them came from the Americas from the following countries - Argentina (1 male), Brazil (4 male/4 female), Canada (1 male/2 female), Chile (1 male) and the USA (1 male).

Compared to Tokyo 2020, we had the same number of athletes representing the Americas but were more successful, winning seven medals.

Brazil was second to Great Britain in the overall medal count, winning one gold, one silver and one bronze. Canada won one silver medal, Chile won one gold medal and the USA won one bronze medal.

We are delighted with the improvements from athletes in the Paris 2024 Paralympics Gamez compared to Tokyo, where we only won one bronze medal. Four of the five COPAC countries competing won a medal.  

We believe one of the most exciting races for the Americas was the men's VL2 200m that saw Brazil win gold and silver and the USA finish with the bronze medal. It was exciting to watch and equally fun to see the celebrations on the dock afterwards.  

We feel very strongly that this was a great Paralympics with gender equity, improved performances by all countries and many good performances in the B finals, with athletes improving on their overall world ranking, which is so important for growth in the sport.  

We congratulate our Paracanoe family for encouraging six new countries to participate in the events. It is this kind of growth that will continue to elevate our sport. The Americas look forward to continued growth at LA28. We have set a goal to achieve two to four new countries from the Americas to be participating at this level in the next four years.  

We will continue to work hard in our development and getting classifications to happen for our athletes at the upcoming Pan Am events and moving forward towards Los Angeles 2028. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, we hope to grow canoeing in the continent and further improve its results in all Olympic disciplines, especially with the advantage that the next Games will be held on American soil. 

By Sebastian Gomes, President of the Pan American Canoe Federation