GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, USA (May 8, 2016) – Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS) and Madeline Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) have topped the field in the Women’s K2 500m by winning their second straight final on the last day of competition at the Canadian Sprint National Team Trials on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, USA.
Russell qualified the quota spot for Canada in the Women’s K1 500m last year at World Championships so she is not eligible to compete at the Continental Qualifier. Another crew will need to qualify the K2 quotas at Continental Qualifiers. If Canada is successful in qualifying the spots, the K2 Olympic entry will come down to a race-off at National Team Trials 2 in Montreal from June 24-26.
In today’s second K2 final, Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Oakville, ON) and Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS) finished second while Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC) and Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC) finished third.
Angus Mortimer (Ottawa, ON) won the Men’s K1 500m which was an additional race being held to assess Sport Canada carding and additional selection opportunities. In addition to the Olympic qualification process, the trials are also being used to select teams for World Cups, Under 23 European Tour, Pan American Championships (U23), and first assessments for U23 World Championships. For many of these events, multiple athletes can be nominated based on the achievement of various performance standards. Team announcements will follow soon as Canoe Kayak Canada’s High Performance Committee applies selection criteria to finalize teams.
The following events are on the horizon for sprint athletes:
- Sprint Team Trials 1 (May 4 – 8) Gainesville, Georgia, USA
- Paracanoe World Championships (May 17 – 19) Duisburg, Germany
- Pan American Championships and Continental Qualifiers (May 19-22) Gainesville, Georgia, USA
- ICF Sprint World Cup 1 (May 20 – 22) Duisburg, Germany
- CANAMEX (May 26 – 29) Veracrus, Mexico
- ICF Sprint World Cup 2 (May 27 – 29) Racice, Czech Republic
- Piestany International Regatta (May 27 – 29) Piestany, Slovakia
- ICF Sprint World Cup 3 (June 3 – 5) Montemor-O-Velho, Portugal
- World University Championships (June 6 – 8) Montemor-O-Velho, Portugal
- Sprint Team Trials 2 (June 24 – 26) Montreal, QC
- Sprint Canada Cup (July 9 – 10) Shawinigan, QC
- ICF Sprint Junior & U23 World Championships (July 28 – 31) Minsk, Belerus
- Olympic Games – sprint events (Aug 15 – 20) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Sprint National Championships (Aug 30 – Sep 3) Dartmouth, NS
- Paralympic Games (Sep 14 – 15) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Summary of Results
| Event | Result |
| Women’s K2 500m – final 2/2 | 1) Michelle Russell (Fall River, NS), Madeline Schmidt (Ottawa, ON)
2) Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Oakville, ON), Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS) 3) Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC) |
| Men’s K1 500m – carding and selection considerations | 1) Angus Mortimer (Ottawa, ON)
2) Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC) 3) Jarret Kenke (Saskatoon, SK) |
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