MONTRÉAL, QC (June 24, 2016) – Genevieve Orton and Kathleen (KC) Fraser have emerged victorious from a nail-biting head-to-head showdown to determine Canoe Kayak Canada’s final two athletes selected for nomination to the Canadian Olympic Team. They finished 1.62 of a second ahead of Michelle Russell and Madeline Schmidt to take the win.

“It didn’t really click in until we crossed the line because it’s been such a long process, but it’s done, and we’re going and it’s amazing,” said Orton after the race.

At the first set of Sprint National Team Trials at the start of May, Orton (Lake Echo, NS) and Fraser (Toronto, ON) were the next ranked crew to Russell (Fall River, NS) and Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) who won both finals in a best two out of three format. Russell had already qualified an Olympic quota spot for Canada at World Championships last year so was ineligible to qualify another quota spot. Orton and Fraser raced and won at the Pan American Continental Qualifier to earn Canada the two additional quota spots in the event. As prescribed in Canoe Kayak Canada’s selection criteria, it came down to a winner-take-all race-off to determine the Olympic entry.

Canoe Kayak Canada will unveil its roster of Olympic and Paralympic Team athletes in Montréal on Monday in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee.

The three-day National Team Trials continue through to Sunday. In addition to this single Olympic selection, the trials are being used to select athletes for the ICF Canoe Sprint Junior and U23 World Championships, assess athletes for Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program and finalize selections for nomination to the Paralympic Games.

Start lists & Results

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Canoe Kayak Canada has been one of Canada’s top performing summer sports having won an impressive count of 24 Olympic medals. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization which includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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For more information:

Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, Canoe Kayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca