MILAN, ITALY – On the fourth day of the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Canada finished ninth in two finals of Olympic events.
In an extremely close Men’s K2 200m final, where less than a second separated first from last, the crew of Ryan Cochrane (Windsor, NS) and Hugues Fournel (Montréal, QC) finished ninth.
Mark Oldershaw
(photo: Balint Vekassy)
Olympic bronze medalist Mark Oldershaw of Burglinton, ON also finished ninth in the Men’s C1 1000m. A top-six result was needed to secure an Olympic quota spot in either event. There will be an additional opportunity to qualify quota spots for Canada next May at the Pan American Canoe Sprint Championship and Continental Olympic Qualifier in Gainesville, Georgia.
In non-Olympic events, Katie Vincent (Mississauga, ON) and Nadya Crossman-Serb (Winnipeg, MB) finished sixth in the Women’s C2 500m final.
In B-finals, Michelle Russell of Fall River, NS had a strong race to rank eleventh overall in the Women’s K1 500m with a second place finish in the B-final. Russell also finished fifth in the Women’s K1 200m semi-final and will race the B-final on Sunday.
Rob Clarke (Mississauga, ON) and Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC) finished sixth in the Men’s K1 1000m B-final to rank fifteenth overall. In the Men’s C1 200m, Jason McCoombs of Dartmouth, NS wound up eighteenth overall with a ninth place finish in the B-final.
de Jonge and Men’s C2 advance to A-finals in Olympic events
Olympic bronze medalist Mark de Jonge of Halifax, NS made a statement in his semi-final of the Men’s K1 200m by posting the fastest overall time and taking the top spot in his semi. de Jonge is the defending World Champion and holds the World’s fastest time for the event at 33.961 seconds. He will take a stab at defending his title in the final tomorrow which takes place at 4:05 a.m. EST.
Ben Russell (Dartmouth, NS) and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC) also had a strong semi-final. The crew placed second in the semi of the Men’s C2 1000m and had the fifth overall fastest time. Russell and Beauchesne-Sévigny have been fourth at the last two World Championships and will race for a podium spot tomorrow at 5:44 a.m. EST. They need a top-six result to earn an Olympic quota spot for Canada.
Eight-time World Champion Laurence Vincent-Lapointe of Trois-Rivières, QC will attempt to win her ninth World title in the Women’s C1 200m final tomorrow. Vincent-Lapointe won her semi with the fastest overall time by a margin of over a second. She showed today that she is still the one to beat as the event saw an unprecedented level of participation. There were a total of forty entries in the Women’s C1 200m as the event becomes a likely prospect for inclusion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS) and Una Lounder (Dartmouth, NS) also advanced to the A-final in the Women’s K2 200m with a third place finish in their semi-final. The 200m is the non-Olympic distance.
In K4 action, the Men’s K4 1000m crew of Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON), Adam van Koeverden (Oakville, ON), Pierre-Luc Poulin (Lac Beauport, QC) and Philippe Duchesneau (Sherbrooke, QC) finished fifth in their semi-final and have advanced to tomorrow’s B-final. There is still a possibility for the crew to earn a quota spot for Canada tomorrow. The top ten nations with representation from four continents will earn quota spots. K4 quotas can only be qualified at World Championships and not at the continental level.
The Women’s K4 500m crew of Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Toronto, ON) and Hannah Vaughan (Dartmouth, NS) finished ninth in their semi-final today. They did not advance and unfortunately are out of contention for an Olympic quota spot in the event.
The final day of action in Milan starts early tomorrow morning and races are being streamed online in live time.
Summary of Results
| Athlete | Event | Result |
| Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON) | Men’s C1 1000m | 9th in final |
| Ryan Cochrane (Windsor, NS),Hugues Fournel (Montréal, QC) | Men’s K2 200m | 9th in final |
| Katie Vincent (Mississauga, ON),Nadya Crossman-Serb (Winnipeg, MB) | Women’s C2 500m | 6th in final |
| Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) | Women’s K1 500m | 11th overall |
| Rob Clarke (Mississauga, ON),Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC) | Men’s K2 1000m | 15th overall |
| Jason McCoombs (Dartmouth, NS) | Men’s C1 200m | 18th overall |
| Semi-finals | ||
| Mark de Jonge (Halifax, NS) | Men’s K1 200m | 1st in semiAdvanced to A-final |
| Ben Russell (Dartmouth, NS), Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC) | Men’s C2 1000m | 2nd in semiAdvanced to A-final |
| Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (Trois-Rivières, QC) | Women’s C1 200m | 1st in semiAdvanced to A-final |
| Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) | Women’s K1 200m | 5th in semiAdvanced to B-final |
| Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS),Una Lounder (Dartmouth, NS) | Women’s K2 200m | 3rd in semiAdvanced to A-final |
| Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON), Adam van Koeverden (Oakville, ON), Pierre-Luc Poulin (Lac Beauport, QC), Philippe Duchesneau (Sherbrooke, QC) | Men’s K4 1000m | 5th in semiAdvanced to B-final |
| Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Toronto, ON), Hannah Vaughan (Dartmouth, NS) | Women’s K4 500m | 9th in semiDid not advance |
CanoeKayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. The organization’s vision is to be a Canadian sport for families, communities and champions. From supporting clubs to developing a competitive National Team, CanoeKayak Canada works to grow a sport which is a rich part of Canada’s heritage.
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Media Contact:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, CanoeKayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca