MONTEMOR-O-VELHO, (September 7, 2021) – Team Canada returned to Junior/U23 international competition this weekend earning three World titles and a total of nine medals at the ICF World Championships.
Sophia Jensen (Cascades Canoe Club) led the medal haul for Canada, earning two gold medals, a silver and a bronze medal in women’s and mixed canoe events.
Jensen trained with Tokyo Olympic medalists, Laurence Vincent Lapointe and Katie Vincent in the lead up to Tokyo, reinforcing the strength and depth of the Canadian women’s canoe program leading into Paris 2024 and beyond.
“It felt absolutely amazing,” said Jensen. “It was an honour to race with such a strong group of athletes and it was also super fun! I can’t wait to keep training hard and seeing what next year has to offer!”
Connor Fitzpatrick (Senobe Aquatic Club) was also crowned World Champion in the U23 C1 500m event. That result tops his silver medal performance in the C1 1000m event from the previous day.
“Being back in the boat and racing post-Tokyo was so amazing,” explains Fitzpatrick. “We had an amazing team and I was very happy to be able to put down some good races that earned me a spot on the podium. To win my first world title this weekend was a feeling like no other. The biggest thing for me was my parents and home club coach were able to be here with me this weekend and enjoy the moment as well.”
“I was very proud of this team both on and off the water,” said CKC’s Chief Technical Officer, Graham Barton. “It has been a tough 18 months and we had little opportunity to prepare due to a late selection event. The nine medals demonstrates potential for the Paris and Los Angeles Olympic Games but there were also many close 4th and 5th place finishes. The team was supported by club coaches many of whom were at their first international competition and they did an amazing job along with the many coaches at home contributed to this best ever Junior and Under 23 World Championship performance.”
Team Canada stood on the podium in the following events:
Gold – Sophia Jensen – C1 200m (U23)
Gold – Sophia Jensen & Alix Plomteux – C2 Mixed 500m (U23)
Gold – Connor Fitzpatrick – C1 500m (U23)
Silver – Connor Fitzpatrick – C1 1000m (U23)
Silver – Sophia Jensen, Anna Cyr, Sloan Mackenzie & Anne Parent – C4 500m (U23)
Bronze – Sophia Jensen & Anna Cyr – C2 500m (U23)
Bronze – Ella Hodgson-Pageau – C1 200m (Jr)
Bronze – Toshka Besharah – K1 200m (Jr)
Bronze – Ian Gaudet – K1 500m (Jr)
Team Canada Entries:
U23
| Women’s Kayak | Men’s Kayak | Women’s Canoe | Men’s Canoe |
| Sarah Nagy | Alex Canning | Sophia Jensen | Andrew Billard |
| Adriana Lilley Osende | Jack Hall | Sloan MacKenzie | Connor Fitzpatrick |
| Riley Melanson | Laurent Lavigne | Anna Roy Cyr | Ydris Hunter |
| Anna Negulic | David Stewart | Anne Sophie Lavoie Parent | Alix Plomteux |
| Grace Whebby | Alexandre Martin |
Junior
| Women’s Kayak | Men’s Kayak | Women’s Canoe | Men’s Canoe |
| Toshka Besahara | Jason Burkholder | Geneva Bond | Emile Bouvier |
| Charlotte Brais | Ian Gaudet | Ava Carew | Kieran Graham |
| Kristiane Free | Craig Johnson | Evie McDonald | Zachary Kralik |
| Cassidy MacPherson | Cole Parsons | Ella Hodgson Pageau | Austin Pigeon |
| Emily Parsons | Lucas Stein |
Results: