CANADIAN SPRINT TRIALS
Sprint paddlers opened a new quadrennial of competition this weekend at the Olympic Basin in Montreal, QC. Athletes are competing for selection to national teams, including the contingent to represent Canada at World Cup competitions in Europe later this month.
“I was very excited to see some great performances to start these trials,” said Graham Barton, Chief Technical Officer of Canoe Kayak Canada. “It’s an encouraging start to the quadrennial."
Jarret Kenke (Saskatoon, SK) opened the afternoon finals with a win the in the senior men’s K1 1000m.
“It was tough. I made a lot of adjustments from heat to semi, and semi to final,” said Kenke.
“I was taking really good strokes and putting everything together that we’ve been working over the past three and a half months, so it felt really good to see it all come together.”
In the senior men’s C1 1000m, Craig Spence (Dartmouth, NS) led the field to beat out Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON), who finished second, and Roland Varga (Richmond Hill, ON) who finished third.
“It was pretty amazing. I knew that I had the strength to win it but when you’re going up against people like Mark Oldershaw … you know it’s never going to be an easy race,” said Spence.
“I think the big step is learning to race against top notch paddlers. Coming into the last half, that feeling at the end of the race is a learning experience every time you go out there.”
Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) won the women’s K1 200m as she edged out Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC)in a down-to-the-wire finish.
“It was a tough race and it feels good going into a new year and a new quad to know that I’m starting off on the right foot,” said Russell, who will also race the K1 200m at trials tomorrow.
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (Trois-Rivières, QC) was also happy to get the new quadrennial off to a good start. With Women’s Canoe slated for inclusion on the Olympic program for the first time in 2020, this is the start of a new charge towards a long-sought-after dream.
“I think I’m starting on a good base,” said Vincent-Lapointe. “I definitely told myself that I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to go in four years.”
Paracanoe athletes raced their first of two finals taking place over the weekend. Classification categories were combined for the race with Zacharie Lauziere-Fitzgerald (Sherbrooke, QC) finishing first, Trinity Tratch (Calgary, AB) second, Troy Chown (Ottawa, ON) third and Mathieu St-Pierre (Shawinigan, QC) was fourth. Athletes are chasing performance standards for their events.
Summary of Results
Event | Result |
Senior Men’s K1 1000m | 1) Jarret Kenke (Saskatoon, SK) 2) Marshall Hughes (Waverley, NS) 3) Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC) |
Senior Men’s C1 1000m | 1) Craig Spence (Dartmouth, NS) 2) Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON) 3) Roland Varga (Richmond Hill, ON) |
Senior Women’s K1 200m | 1) Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) 2) Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC) 3) Lissa Bissonnette (Sherbrooke, QC) |
Senior Women’s C1 200m | 1) Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (Trois-Rivières, QC) 2) Katie Vincent (Mississauga, ON) 3) Anna Roy-Cyr (Lac-Beauport, QC) |
Paracanoe KL VL 1,2,3 200m | 1) Zacharie Lauziere-Fitzgerald (Sherbrooke, QC) 2) Trinity Tratch (Calgary, AB) 3) Troy Chown (Ottawa, ON) 4) Mathieu St-Pierre (Shawinigan, QC) |
CANADIAN SLALOM TRIALS
Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) and Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) both got off to strong starts yesterday at the Canadian Canoe Slalom Team Trials at Canoe Meadows in Kananaskis, AB. Tayler won both runs in the Men’s K1 while Daniels won both runs in Women’s C1.
In Men’s C1, Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) won the first run while Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) won the second. Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) won the first run in Women’s K1 and Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB) won the second.
The sibling pair of Cameron Smedley and Alison Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) won the second run in Mixed C2. They sat out the first run which was won by Liam Smedley and Carmen Kuntz.
Athletes will make four runs over the course of the weekend as they compete for spots on National Teams, including the contingent to represent Canada at World Cups in Europe starting in June. Competition continues today at Canoe Meadows.
Summary of Results
First Run | Second Run |
Men’s K1 1) Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) 2) David Ford (Edmonton, AB) 3) Louis-Philippe Légaré (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC)
| Men’s K1 1) Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) 2) David Ford (Edmonton, AB) 3) Keenan Simpson (Ottawa, ON)
|
Men’s C1 1) Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) 2) Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) 3) Yannick Laviolette (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC)
| Men’s C1 1) Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) 2) Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) 3) Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
|
Women’s K1 1) Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) 2) Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB) 3) Kylie Zirk (Saskatoon, SK) | Women’s K1 1) Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB) 2) Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) 3) Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON)
|
Women’s C1 1) Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) 2) Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON) 3) Kylie Zirk (Saskatoon, SK)
| Women’s C1 1) Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) 2) Kylie Zirk (Saskatoon, SK) 3) Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON)
|
Mixed C2 1) Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) & Carmen Kuntz 2) Cole Oruski & Gemma Grochmal (AB) | Mixed C2 1) Cameron Smedley & Alison Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) 2) Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) & Carmen Kuntz 2) Cole Oruski & Gemma Grochmal (AB)
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Ian Miller Canoe Kayak Canada. Pic by Jon Clarke
