MINDEN, ON – Canoe slalom made its Pan Am Games debut today amid pristine conditions on the beautiful Minden Wild Water Preserve. All five Canadian boats have advanced to the semi-finals taking place tomorrow.
Cameron Smedley
(photo: Sean Scally)
Athletes did two runs to qualify for tomorrow’s semi-final. The final will take place tomorrow afternoon. The athlete’s best time of the two preliminary runs is used in ranking of today’s preliminary heats. Athletes will start off the semi-finals tomorrow in descending order of where they finished today. A maximum of two competitors in each class were eliminated and in some cases all athletes qualified for the final. Today’s rankings are a preview of the competition in the field as the athletes build their confidence for tomorrow.
Ben Hayward of Edmonton, AB ranked second overall today in Men’s K1. Hayward’s time of 86.85 seconds was his fastest of the day and he topped the field in Men’s K1 on his second run even with a two-second penalty for touching a gate. Brazil’s Pedro Da Silva had the fastest time of the day in Men’s K1 with 83.15 seconds so Hayward will start second last in tomorrow’s semi.
Jazmyne Denhollander
(photo: Sean Scally)
Jazmyne Denhollander of Chilliwack, BC ranked third in the Women’s K1 after her two preliminary runs. She won the second run but it was her time of 100.07 seconds from her first run, where she ranked third, that was her best of the day.
Cameron Smedley of Dunrobin, ON sits third in Men’s C1 heading into tomorrow’s semi-final after posting his best time of 91.05 seconds in the second run. He was fourth in his first run and third in his second run. Casey Eichfeld of the United States won both runs in the Men’s C1 and posted remarkably fast times with an 86.85 that came close to the top Men’s K1 time of the day.
Haley Daniels of Calgary, AB also sits in third position heading into tomorrow’s semis. She posted a best time of 176.69 seconds in second run of the Women’s C1. She finished third in the first run and second in run 2.
Ben Hayward and Cameron Smedley paired up in the Men’s C2. They finished third in the first run with a time of 105.03 seconds. They knew their time from the first run would be enough to get through so, like several other crews, opted to forego their second run in order to conserve energy for the races tomorrow.
Semifinals start at 10:30 a.m. while the finals take place between 1:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Summary of Canadian Results
| Athlete | Event | First Run | Second Run | Overall Rank |
| Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB) | Men’s K1 | 2nd (88.14 seconds) | 1st (86.85 seconds) | 2nd |
| Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) | Men’s C1 | 4th (95.90 seconds) | 3rd (91.05 seconds) | 3rd |
| Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) | Women’s C1 | 3rd (248.62 seconds) | 2nd (176.69 seconds) | 3rd |
| Jazmyne Denhollander (Chilliwack, BC) | Women’s K1 | 3rd (100.07 seconds) | 1st (105.03 seconds) | 3rd |
| Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB) & Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) | Men’s C2 | 3rd (105.23 seconds) | DNS | 3rd |
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Media Contact:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, CanoeKayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca