Team Canada kicked off racing at the steamy Sea Forest Waterway with heats and quarterfinals deciding who advances to the semifinals tomorrow, Japan time. Canada competed in WK1 200m, MC2 1000m, MK1 1000m and WK2 500m events.
Andréanne Langlois and Michelle Russell both advanced to their semifinals in the WK1 200m.
“My heat could have gone better but we haven’t raced in so long so you never know how you are going rank and it is obviously the Olympics so everyone is bringing their A game,” said Russell. “The quarterfinals offered an opportunity to improve and get a bit more race experience and take it from there.”
“My quarterfinal was more consistent throughout the whole race so I am really happy about this race,” said Langlois. “I love this distance, it is my favourite so it would be good to go out on a good note.”
Roland Varga and Connor Fitzpatrick raced in the C2 1000m today finishing 5th in the heat, and 4th in the quarterfinals to lock up a spot in the semifinals. The temperatures are soaring in Tokyo and a hot topic for performance here at the Olympic Games.
“I personally love the heat, and for both of us this year, the harder the conditions the better,” said Fitzpatrick. “Our fitness is incredible and we are doing all the right things to cope with the heat. When you get out to the start line and in the gate, you don’t even think about it.”
“A week before in Montreal, we were training in a concrete jungle and we got the preparation we needed,” said Varga. “We are as prepared as possible.”
Simon McTavish raced the MK1 1000m in a very competitive field and did not advance to the semifinals yet looking ahead to the men’s K4 500m.
Alanna Bray-Lougheed and Madeline Schmidt did not advance to the WK2 500m semifinals and will regroup for the K4 500m event.
More information on the canoe and kayak sprint events can be found on the Tokyo 2020 website here.
Race previews:
Monday August 2
| 8:30 PM EDT | Women’s K1 200m | Semifinals | Andréanne Langlois
Michelle Russell |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Men’s C2 1000m | Semifinals | Roland Varga
Connor Fitzpatrick |
| 10:30 PM EDT | Women’s K1 200m | Finals | TBD |
| 10:46 PM EDT | Men’s C2 1000m | Finals | TBD |
Tuesday August 3
| 8:30 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Heats | Mark de Jonge
Nick Matveev |
| 8:58 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Heats | Katie Vincent
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe |
| 9:19 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Heats | Michelle Russell |
| 9:54 PM EDT | Men’s K2 1000m | Heats | Brian Malfesi
Vincent Jourdenais |
| 10:32 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| 10:53 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| 11:07 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| 11:21 PM EDT | Men’s K2 1000m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
Wednesday August 4
| 8:30 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 8:58 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 9:12 PM EDT | Men’s K2 1000m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 10:20 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Finals | TBD |
| 10:36 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:01 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:26 PM EDT | Men’s K2 1000m | Finals | TBD |
Thursday August 5
| 8:30 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Heats | Laurence Vincent-Lapointe
Katie Vincent |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Heats | Connor Fitzpatrick
Roland Varga |
| 9:15 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Heats | Andreanne Langlois
Michelle Russell Alanna Bray-Lougheed Madeline Schmidt |
| 9:30 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Heats | Nick Matveev
Mark de Jonge Pierre Luc Poulin Simon McTavish |
| 10:07 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| 10:21 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
Friday August 6
| 8:30 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 9:07 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 9:14 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 10:15 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 10:31 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:00 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:19 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Finals | TBD |
Athlete List
| Discipline | Athlete |
| Men’s Kayak | Simon McTavish
Mark de Jonge Nick Matveev Brian Malfesi Vincent Jourdenais Pierre Luc Poulin |
| Women’s Kayak | Michelle Russell
Andreanne Langlois Alanna Bray-Lougheed Madeline Schmidt |
| Men’s Canoe | Roland Varga
Connor Fitzpatrick |
| Women’s Canoe | Laurence Vincent-Lapointe
Katie Vincent |
Alternates: Lissa Bissonette, Courtney Stott