RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (August 19, 2016) – Mark de Jonge has earned himself a spot in the Men’s K1 200m final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. de Jonge faced a strong field in his semi-final with Great Britain’s Liam Heath taking the win. Three-time Olympic medalist Ronald Rauhe of Germany finished second in the semi-final while the Olympic silver medalist from 2012, Sau Craviotto of Spain finished third. In a nail-biting finish where only the top-four advance, Canada’s de Jonge pulled through to take the fourth spot with just 0.003 of a second to spare.
Since winning an Olympic bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, de Jonge won silver at the 2013 World Championships followed by two consecutive gold medals at World Championships in 2014 and 2015. He will race for gold tomorrow morning at 8:07 a.m. EST at Lagoa Stadium.
The Women’s K4 500m crew of Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS), and KC Fraser (Toronto, ON) advanced to the semi-final after an impressive second place finish in the semi-final. The crew actually tied for second in the semi-final with the crew from Great Britain — right down to the thousandth of a second. With the top-four crews advancing, both comfortably made it through to tomorrow’s final which is scheduled for 8:40 a.m. EST.
Canada did not qualify a Women’s K4 boat for the Olympic Games but instead qualified two Women’s K1 spots and a Women’s K2. The four athlete quotas allowed the four Canadian athletes to also compete in the K4 event. This is the first time a Canadian Women’s K4 crew has qualified for an Olympic final since 2004. Today’s strong performance by the women builds on the success the female contingent of the Canadian Olympic Team has had this Games.
CBC will broadcast the race live tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is the final day for Canoe Kayak events in RIo.
Results
Summary of Results
| Athlete | Event | Result |
| Mark de Jonge (Halifax, NS) | Men’s K1 200m | 4th in semi
Advanced to A-final |
| Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS), and KC Fraser (Toronto, ON) | Women’s K4 500m | 2nd in semi
Advanced to A-final |
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Canoe Kayak Canada has been one of Canada’s top performing summer sports having won an impressive count of 24 Olympic medals. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization which includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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For more information:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, Canoe Kayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca