OTTAWA, ONTARIO (June 13, 2019) – Following two exciting International Canoe Federation (ICF) Sprint and Paracanoe World Cups, Canoe Kayak Canada is proud to announce the 20 athletes who will be wearing the maple leaf at the 2019 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Szeged, Hungary from August 21st – 25th.
The 2019 Canadian World Cup Team competed in Poznan, Poland and Duisburg, Germany coming away with many notable results including nine podium finishes by Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent.
“The team we selected following the World Cups showed several opportunities to reach finals, be on the podium and qualify for the Olympics later this summer”, said Chief Technical Officer of Canoe Kayak Canada, Graham Barton. “While this is the core of our team for 2019, we will continue to evaluate results at a selection event at the end of June to see if there are any performances that show us they deserve to be added to the team.”
The 2019 World Championships will also serve as an Olympic qualification event where Canadian paddlers will aim to secure boats for Tokyo 2020. Canada’s women’s Canoe powerhouses Katie Vincent and Laurence Vincent-Lapointe will look to defend their 2018 World Champion titles in C2 500m, as well as Laurence’s World Champion titles in C1 5000m and C1 200m.
“I am very excited to put the maple leaf back on and race at the World Championships,” said Canadian athlete Brian Malfesi, who last competed at the World Championships in 2015. “It fills me with pride to race for Canada and I am humbled by all the support I have received along the way. Our entire team is focused and ready to qualify the boats for 2020.”
World Cup 1 results here.
World Cup 2 results here.
2019 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
MEN’S CANOE
| Athlete | Hometown | Club | Coach(es) |
| Connor Fitzpatrick | Dartmouth, NS | Senobe | Rob Baert, Andreas Dittmer |
| Mark Oldershaw | Burlington, ON | Burloak | Scott Oldershaw, Andreas Dittmer |
| Roland Varga | Aurora, ON | Richmond Hill | Andreas Dittmer |
WOMEN’S CANOE
| Athlete | Hometown | Club | Coach(es) |
| Katie Vincent | Mississauga, ON | Mississauga | Kyle Jeffery, Jan Kruk |
| Laurence Vincent-Lapointe | Trois-Rivières, QC | Trois-Rivières | Mathieu Pelletier |
MEN’S KAYAK
| Athlete | Hometown | Club | Coach(es) |
| Alex Scott | Halifax, NS | Maskwa | Frédéric Jobin |
| Brian Malfesi | Maple Ridge, BC | Ridge | Tessa Nagai, Frédéric Jobin |
| Mark de Jonge | Halifax, NS | Maskwa | Frédéric Jobin |
| Pierre-Luc Poulin | Lac Beauport, QC | Lac Beauport | Frédéric Jobin |
| Nick Matveev | Richmond Hill, ON | Balmy Beach | Peter Martinek, Frédéric Jobin |
| Simon McTavish | Oakville, ON | Mississauga | Frédéric Jobin |
| Vincent Jourdenais | Trois-Rivières, QC | Trois-Rivières | Mathieu Pelletier |
WOMEN’S KAYAK
| Athlete | Hometown | Club | Coach(es) |
| Courtney Stott | Pickering, ON | Balmy Beach | Peter Martinek, Chad Brooks, |
| Lissa Bissonnette | Sherbrooke, QC | Pointe-Claire | Chad Brooks |
| Madeline Schmidt | Ottawa, ON | Rideau | Mike Robinson, Chad Brooks |
| Michelle Russell | Fall River, NS | Cheema | Mike Kerrivan, Chad Brooks |
| Natalie Davison | Manotick, ON | Rideau | Rob Baert, Chad Brooks |
PARACANOE
| Athlete | Hometown | Club | Coach(es) |
| Erica Scarff | Mississauga, ON | Balmy Beach | Peter Martinek |
| Mathieu St-Pierre | Shawinigan, QC | Shawinigan | Hélène Gervais, Marc Creamer |
| Trinity Tratch | Calgary, AB | Calgary | Edgar Garza, Marc Creamer |
Visit Canoe Kayak Canada’s website to get more information and make sure to follow @PlanetCanoe and @CanoeKayakCAN for more live updates.
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About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada (CKC) is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that 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:
Laurel MacAdam
Communications Intern
Colleen Coderre
Communications Lead