CANOE/KAYAK QUALIFIER SET FOR MONTREAL THIS WEEKEND
TSN.CA STAFF/SPORTCOM
This weekend's canoe and kayak Pan American Championships in Montreal will be the final chance for several Canadian athletes to secure a trip to the Olympic Games in Beijing.
At the 11-country Continental Olympic Qualifier, Canada will be battling top competitors from the United States, Cuba and Brazil to gain spots in the other sprint paddling events on the Olympic program.
The Canadian entries for the men kayak events are Ryan Cuthbert of Carleton Place, Ont., and Steve Jorens of Aurora, Ont., in the K-2 1,000 and for the K-4 1,000 Angus Mortimer and Rhys Hill, both of Ottawa, Christopher Pellini of Mississauga, Ont., and Brady Reardon of Burlington, Ont.
In canoeing the Canadian racers are: Thomas Hall of Pointe-Claire, Que., in the C-1 1,000 and Andrew Russell of Dartmouth, N.S., and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny of Trois-Rivieres, Que., in both the C-2 500 and C-2 1,000.
In the women's kayak 500-metres, Canadians chasing spots are Karen Furneaux of Waverley, N.S., in the K-1, Kristin Gauthier of Ottawa and Mylanie Barré of Lac-Beauport, Que., in the K-2 and Gauthier, Furneaux, Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny of Trois-Rivieres and Émilie Fournel of Lachine, Que., in the K-4.
The finals are on Saturday and Sunday and the winner of each race will earn an Olympic entry in that event for their country
So far Canada has Olympic spots wrapped up in the men's K-1 and K-2 500 metre events, the men's K-1 1,000 and the men's C-1 500. In both kayak singles events, Adam van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., has assured his nomination to the Olympic team.
National Team Trials, 3 and 4 of May 2008 (Gainesville, Georgia)
Mission accomplished! We won both distances at our National Team Trials. Check out the link below for more details:
Thanks for looking us up! Keep following our journey to the Games....
Richard and Andrew
Canadian K1 for Doubles
Upon Ray's (the owner of Doubles Hoagies in Melbourne, Florida) request for a Canadian Canoe/Kayak Team memorabilia item for his Tiki Bar, we decided to pimp out an old k1 and then get the team to sign it. Don't worry, if you forgot or were not there to sign it, you can do it next year.... it will be hung in the rafters!
DAY FOR DARFUR (13th of April 2008)
Tomorrow is the 5th Global DAY FOR DARFUR which will include the participation of 30 different countries including Canada. The objective of this movement is to protest against the bloodshed in Darfur Sudan and the crimes against humanity committed there. Note that since the month of March 2008 I am part of TEAM DARFUR (www.teamdarfur.org) which is an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. If you are an athlete I press you to sign up on their websie and spread the word. You don't have to be an athlete to help bring an end to the Darfur crises. You can visit the following website and leave a personal message to Stephen Harper... www.standcanada.org Richard Dober Jr
