LA SEU D’URGEL, SPAIN (September 27, 2019) – Team Canada remains in the hunt for Olympic qualification at the ICF Slalom World Championships.

Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB) and Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) qualified for the semifinals today placing 35^th and 40^th respectively in the K1 heats. The top 18 countries will secure a berth for Tokyo in the K1 events thus qualifying for the semifinals was a critical step for these Canadian paddlers.

“We are thrilled to see both Ben and Michael step up and come through with big performances on their 2^nd runs today,” said James Cartwright, CKC Senior High Performance and Coach Development Manager. “They delivered solid race runs under a lot of pressure but we know they can still find time on the course.”

Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) secured his spot in the C1 semifinals yesterday and will be battling for Olympic qualification tomorrow. Top 11 countries will earn athlete quota spots for Tokyo in both the men’s and women’s C1 events.

“Our work isn’t over yet so we need to stay focused on our objective right to the end of the competition.”

Canada will be following the Women’s C1 and K1 races despite not advancing to the semifinal round as some Athlete Quota positions may reallocated after the competition based on the Tokyo Qualification system.

Tune in for Team Canada C1 semi-final action tomorrow and K1 semifinals on Sunday.

What:

2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships

When:

Saturday September 28 (9:00am to 1:30pm local time) (3:00am to 7:30am EST)

Sunday September 29 (8:30am to 1:30pm local time) (2:30am to 7:30am EST)

Where:

LA SEU D’URGELL, Spain

Szeged, Hungary – MAP

How to follow:

All races will be available to watch on Planet Canoe’s YouTube here, as well as on CBC Sports here.

Visit the event website here.

The Canadian entries are listed below.

To view Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team Criteria, click here.

Visit Canoe Kayak Canada’s website to get more information and make sure to follow @PlanetCanoe and @CanoeKayakCAN for more live updates.