By Canadian Press

Canadian paddlers feed off local crowd for medals at world championships

Aug 7, 2022 | 9:43 AM

DARTMOUTH, N.S. — Canada’s rising stars in canoe racing powered to gold, silver and bronze medals in the world championships as a crowd roared its approval alongside Lake Banook in Dartmouth, N.S., on Sunday.

Katie Vincent and Connor Fitzpatrick started slowly and picked up the pace as they drove their canoe to a victory in the 500-metre distance to become world champions in the event.

Their win came about 90 minutes after Sophia Jensen, a 20-year-old from Chelsea, Que., raced to silver, finishing less than a second behind world champion Liudmyla Luzan of Ukraine in the 500 metres.

The paddler was exuberant with the result, saying the crowd’s cheers kept her aware she was vying for a medal and lifted her adrenaline in “a crazy fight to the end.”

The Halifax duo of 26-year-old Craig Spence and 24-year-old Brett Himmelman also held on for a bronze medal for Canada in a gruelling, 1,000-metre canoe final in intense mid-day heat.

New Awards Program

Prince George City Council to discuss Citizen Recognition Medal Program Monday

2h ago

Missing Trio

Fort St. John RCMP looking for missing father and two children

6h ago

Caledonia Nordic Ski Club

Caledonia Nordic Ski Club prepare for another big national biathlon competition

23h ago

An exhausted Spence had to sit on the wharf with ice on his neck after race, but said winning a medal on his home lake before friends and family was “a dream come true.”

The strong results came after Vincent, a 26-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., relinquished her title as reigning world champion in the 200-metre women’s sprint, placing fifth in race where less than a second separated the top athletes.

On Saturday, two-time Olympian Andreanne Langlois and Toshka Besharah-Hrebacka showed their new partnership in the women’s kayak was paying dividends with their bronze in the K-2 200-metre sprint.

Besharah-Hreback is just 19 years old, and is in her first seniors competition, while Langlois is 29 and a veteran on the world stage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press