MONTRÉAL – The heat and athletic determination endured for a second day of Canadian Sprint CanoeKayak Team Trials 3 at the Olympic Basin in Montréal as assessments for World Championships Teams finished off. Most qualifications require two out of three wins to secure a spot on the team with original qualifications occurring at National Team Trials 1 which took place in Georgia at the end of April.
Seven-time World Champion Laurence Vincent-Lapointe resurged with a second win against Toronto’s Taylor Potts in Women’s C1 200. Potts had won the first set of trials while Vincent-Lapointe took a victory yesterday and today.
“I worked really, really hard and I’m happy I see the results,” said Vincent-Lapointe who clocked one of her top times today at 47.043 seconds. She says today’s performance adds some confidence as she prepares to defend her title in an increasingly competitive event. “I feel like I’m farther ahead than a few years ago and as the international field goes up, I’m going up with it.”
Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny of Trois-Rivières, QC and Benjamin Russell of Dartmouth, NS won the Men’s C2 1000. The crew has been on the World Cup podium this season and will try to improve upon their fourth place result at World Championships last year. Paul Bryant and Roland Varga, both of Richmond Hill, ON, placed second. Third place went to the Dartmouth crew of Mark James and Peter Lombardi.
Andrew Jessop of Halifax and Brady Reardon of Burlington, ON won the Men’s K2 1000. The Toronto-based crew of Nigel Rockett and Conrad Hopp were second. Brian Malfesi of Maple Ridge, BC and Adam Tenwolde of Dartmouth, NS came in for third.
“It was a good race, we got off the line and we were able to just get into our race place and it worked,” said Jessop.
In Women’s K1 200, Michelle Russell of Waverley, NS took the victory. Émilie Fournel of Lachine, QC was second and Genevieve Orton of Lake Echo, NS took third.
Two race-offs for Women’s K2 500 took place today with the first victory going to Toronto’s KC Fraser and Una Lounder of Dartmouth, NS. The crews were switched up for the second race-off which was won by KC Fraser and Michelle Russell. Fraser and Russell held the previous win from the first set of Trials.
In Men’s K4 1000, the win went to Rob Clarke (Toronto), Philippe Duchesneau (Sherbrooke, QC), Andrew Jessop (Halifax) and Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON). Canada’s Under 23 crew of Étienne Beauchesne (Trois-Rivières, QC), Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC), Pierre-Luc Poulin (Quebec City), and Adam Tenwolde (Dartmouth, NS) pushed hard to the line and finished just a half second behind the winning boat.
In Under 23 Women’s C2 500, Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Sarah-Jane Caumartin of Otterburn took the win. The crew also won the Senior C2 yesterday. Juliette Brault of Pointe-Claire, QC and Katie Vincent of Mississauga, ON were second. Toronto’s Taylor Potts and Ottawa’s Megan Sibthorpe pulled in for third.
Hugues Fournel of Lachine, QC took a win in the Men’s K1 200. He was followed by Étienne Morneau of Québec City in second and Marc-Alexandre Gagnon of Trois-Rivières, QC in third. Halifax’s Mark de Jonge has already locked up the Men’s K1 200 spot for World Championships and did not race this set of trials.
Jason McCoombs of Dartmouth, NS won a second final of the Men’s C1 200 which was strictly for ranking purposes. Ben Tardioli of Ottawa won yesterday’s final to get his second win needed to secure the spot for World Championships and did not race today.
The team for Senior World Championships will be announced on Monday along with several additional athletes to be named to the Under 23 World Championships team. Senior World Championships will take place in Moscow, Russia from August 6 to 10. The U23 Worlds will take place in Szeged, Hungary from July 17 to 20.
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