GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, USA – Canada’s fastest sprint paddlers started off their competition season for the year with the first set of National Team Trials on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. The trials are being used to select Canada’s team to compete at World Cups in Europe in the second part of May. The trials are also the first round of selections for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and World Championships in Milan, Italy.
Mark de Jonge of Halifax, NS won the Men’s K1 200. de Jonge is the reigning World Champion and an Olympic bronze medalist. Today’s win secures de Jonge the spot for World Championships and Pan American Games.
Olympic bronze medalist Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, ON topped the Men’s C1 1000 field. He needs another top spot at World Cups to secure selection to the Pan American Games and the World Championship Team.
Ottawa’s Angus Mortimer won the Men’s K1 1000. This gives him the first win towards selection for Pan Amercian Games and World Championships. Adam van Koeverden finished second in the event and will need to beat out Mortimer at both World Cups to win the K1 1000 spot.
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe of Trois-Rivières, QC won the first of two finals in Women’s C1 200. The multiple-time World Champion needs another win in the same event tomorrow to count an overall win at the trials. Two wins between trials and World Cups are needed to secure selection to the World Championships and Pan American Games Team.
Ben Tardioli of Ottawa, ON won the Men’s C1 200 which follows a similar selection route. He’ll need another win in a second final tomorrow to take the overall win for the trials. If someone else wins tomorrow’s final a race-off will take place between the two winners.
In women’s kayak Michelle Russell of Waverley, NS won the Women’s K1 200. Russell won gold in the K1 200 at the 2013 U23 World Championships and has been coming up through the ranks quickly at the international level. She needs another win at World Cup 1 or 2 to be selected for World Championships.
Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Toronto, ON), Hannah Vaughan (Dartmouth, NS) raced against the clock as the sole crew in the Women’s K4 500 in an effort to achieve a performance standard. Crew selection for both women’s and men’s K4s will be determined over the course of World Cups.
The crew of Philippe Duchesneau (Sherbrooke, QC), Christopher Mehak (Toronto, ON), Pierre-Luc Poulin (Lac Beauport, QC), Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON) won the Men’s K4 1000 by a margin of 3.4 seconds.
The trials continue until Sunday afternoon and CanoeKayak Canada will announce its World Cup Tour team on Monday.
Summary of Results
| Event | Result |
| Men’s K1 200 | 1) Mark de Jonge (Halifax, NS)2) Ryan Cochrane
3) Marc-Alexandre Gagnon (Trois-Rivières, QC) |
| Men’s K1 1000 | 1) Angus Mortimer (Ottawa, ON)2) Adam van Koeverden (Oakville, ON)
3) Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON) |
| Men’s C1 1000 | 1) Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON)2) Ben Russell (Dartmouth, NS)
3) Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC) |
| Women’s K1 200 | 1) Michelle Russell (Waverley, NS)2) Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC)
3) Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS) |
| Women’s K4 500 | 1) Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny (Trois-Rivières, QC), Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC), Kathleen (KC) Fraser (Toronto, ON), Hannah Vaughan (Dartmouth, NS) |
| Men’s K4 1000 | 1) Philippe Duchesneau (Sherbrooke, QC), Christopher Mehak (Toronto, ON), Pierre-Luc Poulin (Lac Beauport, QC), Brady Reardon (Burlington, ON)2) Rob Clarke (Toronto, ON), Andrew Jessop (Halifax, NS), Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge, BC), Angus Mortimer (Ottawa, ON) |
| Men’s C1 200 – final 1/2 | 1) Ben Tardioli (Ottawa, ON)2) Jason McCoombs (Dartmouth, NS)
3) Aaron Rublee (Kamloops, BC) |
| Women’s C1 200 – final 1/2 | 1) Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (Trois-Rivières, QC)2) Katie Vincent (Mississauga, ON)
3) Taylor Potts (Toronto, ON) |
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