MONTREAL, QC (June 24, 2024) – Canoe Kayak Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada Canoe/Kayak athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The athletes are:
Women’s Canoe
Sophia Jensen – Cascades
Sloan MacKenzie – Cheema Aquatic Club
Katie Vincent – Mississauga Canoe Club
Women’s Kayak
Toshka Besharah-Hrebacka – Rideau Canoe Club
Natalie Davison – Rideau Canoe Club
Riley Melanson – Senobe Aquatic Club
Michelle Russell – Abenaki Aquatic Club
Courtney Stott – Balmy Beach Canoe Club
Men’s Canoe
Connor Fitzpatrick – Senobe Aquatic Club
Men’s Kayak
Laurent Lavigne – Club de canoe-kayak de vitesse de Trois-Rivières
Nicholas Matveev – Balmy Beach Canoe Club
Simon McTavish – Mississauga Canoe Club
Pierre-Luc Poulin – Club de Canoe-Kayak Lac Beauport
Para Athletes
Brianna Hennessy – Ottawa River Canoe Club
Erica Scarff – Mississauga Canoe Club
Mathieu St-Pierre – Club de canotage du Shawinigan
The athletes were selected for Team Canada based on their performances at Canoe Kayak Canada’s Sprint National Team Trials that were held at the Montreal Olympic Basin over the weekend.
Katie Vincent, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist in the women’s C-2 500m, will partner with Sloan MacKenzie, who is making her Olympic debut. Together they won bronze in the C-2 500m at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, which qualified Canada in the event for Paris 2024. Soon after, they won gold at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Vincent and MacKenzie took home silver in the women’s C-2 500m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged, Hungary in May.
“It’s hard to find the words in this special moment,” said Vincent. “After the Tokyo Olympics, I had no idea what the road to Paris was going to look like, there were many unknowns. To be here today with new coaches and teammates going to my second Olympics gives me so much pride and joy. I can honestly say we have one of the best teams in the world both on and off the water and I can’t wait to enjoy the next six weeks with my teammates and coaches!”
Sophia Jensen a remporté la médaille d’argent du C-1 200 m à la Coupe du monde de Szeged, terminant juste derrière Vincent. À 22 ans, elle est une étoile montante qui a remporté des titres mondiaux juniors consécutifs au C-1 200 m en 2018 et 2019, puis l’or dans cette même épreuve aux Championnats du monde des moins de 23 ans en 2021. Après sa sixième place aux Championnats du monde 2023, elle a gagné le bronze au C-1 200 m féminin aux Jeux panaméricains de Santiago 2023.
In women’s kayak, Michelle Russell will make her second Olympic appearance. She competed in the women’s K-1 200m, K-1 500m and K-4 500m at Tokyo 2020. Russell, who won gold in K-1 500m at Santiago 2023, qualified Canada an Olympic spot in the K-1 500m by placing sixth at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.
Courtney Stott, Natalie Davison, Riley Melanson and Toshka Besharah-Hrebacka will all be making their Olympic debuts in the women’s K-4 500m. The foursome competed together at the 2023 World Championships, where they qualified the boat for Paris, and at Santiago 2023, where they won silver.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Connor Fitzpatrick will compete in the men’s C-1 1000m. He claimed that spot for Canada at the Pan American Qualifier in April, six months after winning bronze in the C-1 1000m at Santiago 2023. Fitzpatrick was an A finalist at the 2023 World Championships.
Simon McTavish, Nicholas Matveev and Pierre-Luc Poulin will make their second Olympic appearance. They will be joined in the men’s K-4 500m by Laurent Lavigne, who is headed to his first Olympic Games. This crew raced together at Santiago 2023, where they won silver, and at the 2023 World Championships, where they qualified the boat for Paris 2024.
“With Paris around the corner and securing a place on this incredible Team Canada,” said Pierre-Luc Poulin. There are a lot of emotions and pride being nominated to an Olympic team. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games made a mark for me in my paddling career and I’m looking forward to making the Paris Olympics one to remember.”
Paris will be the second Paralympic Games appearance for Hennessy, Scarff and St-Pierre. Hennessy and St-Pierre competed at Tokyo 2020 while Scarff, at the age of 20, was part of the first-ever Paracanoe roster to compete at the Games, as the sport made its Paralympic debut in 2016.
Both Hennessy and Scarff reached the podium at the 2023 Paracanoe World Championships, earning Paralympic quota spots for Canada. Hennessy took silver in the women’s VL2 200m and bronze in the KL1 200m, while Scarff finished second in the women’s VL3 200m.
“I am so excited for my second Paralympic Games. Our team has been working extremely hard to become a medal potential for these Games!,” said Hennessy. “ I hope that we can make our country proud and bring home some shiny hardware! I can’t wait to wear the Canadian flag with the utmost pride!”
At the 2024 worlds last month, Hennessy secured another silver medal in the VL2 event while Scarff was fourth in the VL3.
A final Paralympic quota spot for the nation was earned by St-Pierre at the 2024 worlds following a seventh-place finish in the men’s VL2 200m.
“We are so thrilled to welcome three outstanding athletes in Brianna, Erica, and Mathieu to the Canadian Paralympic Team,” said Karolina Wisniewska, co-chef de mission, Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team. “Paracanoe is still a fairly new sport at the Paralympic Games, and I cannot wait to witness it in person. I’ll be there to cheer them on!”
“The performances of the paddlers at the National Trials, held this weekend at the Olympic Basin in Montreal, highlight the strength and depth of Team Canada. The recent successes of the Canadian canoe/kayak sprint team, combined with a well-established tradition of competitiveness, have us excited for Paris 2024,” said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. “These athletes confirm their status among the world’s best, and they will undoubtedly shine on the Olympic stage this summer.”
Since the sport made its Olympic debut at Berlin 1936, 26 medals have been won by Canadians in canoe/kayak sprint, with the biggest medal haul coming from Los Angeles 1984 where six medals were won. Women’s canoe events were included on the Olympic program for the first time at Tokyo 2020. There, Canada claimed two medals, including the bronze won by Katie Vincent and former partner Laurence Vincent Lapointe in the C-2 500m. This will be the third Games Paracanoe will be on the Paralympic program, first debuting in 2016. Canada is still looking for its first medal in the sport.
Canoe/Kayak Sprint and Paracanoe will take place at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
Team Canada’s canoe/kayak team for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games also includes the following coaches, and support staff.
Coaches
Chad Brooks – Coach
Andreas Dittmer – Coach
Mark Granger – Para Coach
Anders Gustafsson – Head Coach
Joel Hazzan – Para Coach
Anna Hetzler – Assistant Coach
Support Staff
Dr. Tina Atkinson – Physician
Nancy Botting – Para Physiotherapist
Colleen Coderre – Olympic Media Attaché
Dave Green – Massage Therapist
Emily MacKeigan – Team Manager
Shelly Malcolm Beazley – Physiotherapist
Ian Mortimer – Team Leader
Emmalee Nother – Paralympic Media Attaché
Frank Raymond – Strength and Conditioning Coach
LA Schmidt – Family & Friends Lead
Penny Werthner – Mental Performance Consultant
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
The latest Team Canada Paralympic Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Colleen Coderre
Communications Lead – Paris 2024 Olympic Media Attaché
C: 613-530-6217
E: ccoderre@canoekayak.ca
Emmalee Nother
Communications Coordinator – Paris 2024 Paralympic Media Attaché
C: 905-912-1322
E: enother@canoekayak.ca
Tara MacBournie
Program Manager, Sport Communications -Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca
Nicole Watts
Senior Manager, Communications & PR – Canadian Paralympic Committee
C: 613-462-2700
E: nwatts@paralympic.ca