Canada Qualifies Men’s Slalom Kayak Entry for Tokyo 2020

Sep
29
Canoe Slalom, Uncategorized, World Championships
Posted By: admin@canoekayak.ca

LA SEU D’URGEL, SPAIN (September 29, 2019) – Team Canada qualified a second boat for Tokyo 2020 today in the men’s kayak semifinals at the ICF Slalom World Championships.

Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB) finished 14th in the semis to secure an Olympic quota spot in the K1 event. Canadian teammate Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) wrapped up his K1 event in 28th overall.

“It’s such a huge weight off my shoulders to make it through this step,” Hayward reflects. “I am so happy to have qualified the spot and to deliver a run that I am proud to look back on.”

Although Hayward missed qualifying for the finals, his time in the semifinal run would have been strong enough for a 4th place in the final.

“Looking ahead to Tokyo, this race validates that I can be in contention for a medal and I’m excited to work as hard as I can through the winter to get in the best shape possible.”

Team Canada secured two Olympic spots in the men’s C1 and K1 events this week with the next Tokyo qualification opportunity to take place at the 2020 Pan-Am Championships scheduled in Rio de Janeiro from April 3-5, 2020.

“I’m very pleased with the team’s performance in La Seu d’Urgell,” said James Cartwright, CKC High Performance and Coach Development Senior Manager. “We all worked together with a common goal to secure our entries for Tokyo. Two years ago, we set out to qualify four athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, so today we will celebrate this milestone and tomorrow we will continue our preparation for the next Qualification race in Rio and the Tokyo Games.”

What:

2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships

Where:

LA SEU D’URGELL, Spain

MAP

Visit the event website and results here.

The Canadian entries are listed below.

Event Crew
K1 Men Ben Hayward
K1 Men Michael Tayler
K1 Men Trevor Boyd
K1 Women Florence Maheu
K1 Women Lois Betteridge
C1 Men Cameron Smedley
C1 Men Spencer Pomeroy
C1 Women Lois Betteridge
C1 Women Haley Daniels
Team Event
K1M Hayward, Tayler, Boyd
K1W Maheu, Betteridge, Daniels

 

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