TOKYO, JAPAN (August 4, 2021) – It was a historic moment at the SeaForest Waterway with the first-ever women’s canoe sprint races taking place today at an Olympic Games. Canada’s Katie Vincent (Mississauga Canoe Club) and Laurence Vincent Lapointe (Trois-Rivières Canoe-Kayak Club) did not let this opportunity go to waste, winning both their heats to advance directly to semifinals.
“We are writing history in women’s canoe,” said Vincent Lapointe. “In 2010, I was there for the first world championships for women’s canoe and I am just going to keep doing my best right up until the end of this event.”
Katie Vincent commenting in the media mixed zone that she was excited for more racing. “Having not raced since 2019, to come out and know that all the work is still paying off is relieving. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and to execute a little more in the coming races.”
Mark de Jonge (Maskwa Aquatic Club) and Nick Matveev (Balmy Beach Canoe Club)
raced in the men’s K1 200m heats and quarterfinals, with only Matveev securing his advancement into the semifinals.
“I was a bit nervous as this is my first international race in this event and now that I’ve dusted off the cobwebs, I am excited to race in the semis and hopefully qualify for the finals tomorrow,” said Matveev.
Michelle Russell (Cheema Aquatic Club) earned her spot into the semifinals via the quarterfinals in the K1 500m. “I was a little upset that that I didn’t make it directly through to semis directly from my heat but after speaking with my coach Chad and making the necessary adjustments I think it paid off in the quarterfinals.”
Brian Malfesi (Ridge Canoe and Kayak Club) and Vincent Jourdenais (Club de canoe-kayak de vitesse de Trois-Rivieres) battled hard in their quarterfinal race, missing out on A Finals by less than a second. Malfesi commented, “Every crew here is the best in the world and we know we are right in it and we will take that into the B Final and aim to win it.”
It’s a big day of semi-finals and finals so tune in live on CBC Olympics Live – schedule below.
More information on the canoe and kayak sprint events can be found on the Tokyo 2020 website here.
Race previews:
Wednesday August 4 EDT/Thursday August 5 JST
| 8:30 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Semifinals | Nick Matveev |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Semifinals | Katie Vincent
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe |
| 8:58 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Semifinals | Michelle Russell |
| 10:35 PM EDT | Men’s K1 200m | Finals | TBD |
| 10:50 PM EDT | Women’s C1 200m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:22 PM EDT | Women’s K1 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:47 PM EDT | Men’s K2 1000m | Final – B | Brian MalfesiVincent Jourdenais |
Thursday August 5/Friday August 6 JST
| 8:30 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Heats | Laurence Vincent-Lapointe
Katie Vincent |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Heats | Connor Fitzpatrick
Roland Varga |
| 9:15 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Heats | Andreanne Langlois
Michelle Russell Alanna Bray-Lougheed Madeline Schmidt |
| 9:30 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Heats | Nick Matveev
Mark de Jonge Pierre Luc Poulin Simon McTavish |
| 10:07 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| 10:21 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Quarterfinals | TBD |
Friday August 6 EDT /Saturday August 7 JST
| 8:30 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 8:44 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 9:07 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 9:14 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Semifinals | TBD |
| 10:15 PM EDT | Women’s C2 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 10:31 PM EDT | Men’s C1 1000m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:00 PM EDT | Women’s K4 500m | Finals | TBD |
| 11:19 PM EDT | Men’s K4 500m | Finals | TBD |
Athlete List
| Discipline | Athlete |
| Men’s Kayak | Simon McTavish
Mark de Jonge Nick Matveev Brian Malfesi Vincent Jourdenais Pierre Luc Poulin |
| Women’s Kayak | Michelle Russell
Andreanne Langlois Alanna Bray-Lougheed Madeline Schmidt |
| Men’s Canoe | Roland Varga
Connor Fitzpatrick |
| Women’s Canoe | Laurence Vincent-Lapointe
Katie Vincent |
Alternates: Lissa Bissonette, Courtney Stott