PITESTI, ROMANIA (July 31, 2019) – Twelve of Canada’s up and coming sprint athletes are ready to line up in Pitesti, Romania, to compete at the 2019 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships. The competition begins on Thursday, August 1st and will run until Sunday, August 4th.
Pitesti was host to the 2017 Junior/U23 World Championships and will once again welcome the best young paddlers in the World this year. The 2018 competition took place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where team Canada was named Best Federation in the Junior/U23 Women’s Sprint Canoe Category after winning six medals at the event.
Among Canada’s athletes is 2018 World Champion in C1 500m and C1 200m, Sophia Jensen (Cascades, QC). Her C2 500m partner, Julia Lilley-Osende (Mic Mac, NS) will also be competing, as the duo vies to defend their 2018 World Champion title.
“These athletes showed some tremendous performances against some of our top seniors at our National selection races and this demonstrates they have the potential to reach finals and challenge for the podium at this competition,” said Chief Technical Officer, Graham Barton. “As well, we have many returning athletes who should be able to improve upon their performances in 2018. I am very confident we will have some great results here in Romania. This experience is an important stepping stone in the athlete’s development toward the senior level and future Olympic Games.”
Half of the selected athletes competed at last year’s Junior/U23 World’s and will be looking to improve upon their results to finish on top of the podium this year. Maren Bradley (Rideau, ON) finished 2nd in the K1 1000m B final, and Laurent Lavigne (Trois Rivières, QC) finished 3rd in the K1 500m B final in 2018. Balmy Beach athlete Cameron Low will be hoping to build on his solid 6th place finish in K1 1000m B final as will Kate Pennyfather (Burloak, ON) who competed in the C2 200m event.
What:
2019 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships
Where:
Pitesti, Romania
Budeasa Dam, Arges River – MAP
When:
Thursday, August 1 (9:00am to 5:50pm EEST) (2:00am to 10:50am EST)
Friday, August 2 (9:00am to 5:40pm EEST) (2:00am to 10:40am EST)
Saturday, August 3 (8:45am to 6:18pm EEST) (1:45am to 11:18am EST)
Sunday, August 4 (8:48am to 1:51pm EEST) (1:48am to 6:51am EST)
How to follow:
All races will be available to watch on live stream on Planet Canoe’s Youtube here.
Live results are available here.
Visit Canoe Kayak Canada’s website to get more information and make sure to follow @PlanetCanoe and @CanoeKayakCAN for more live updates.
Subscribe to Canoe Kayak Canada’s mailing list to get all news and results directly to your email.
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 Assistant
Colleen Coderre
Communications Lead