13 Podium Appearances for Canoe Kayak Canada at Lima 2019 Pan Am Games
Canoe Kayak Canada – LIMA, PERU (August 5th, 2019) – The 2019 Pan American Games have come to an end for Canoe Kayak Canada, with the last of the slalom competitions finishing up on Sunday afternoon. Team Canada earned a combined total of 13 medals in Lima between the sprint and slalom competitions, just one medal short of their TORONTO 2015 Pan Am record.
The sprint event was held from July 27th – 30th at the Peruvian Regional Conservation Area of Albufera de Medio Mundo, with the slalom event happening a week later from August 2nd to 4th on the Rio Cañete in Lunahuaná.
The sprint team captured 10 medals during their four days of competition, standing on the podium in nearly all of the contested events. The four slalom athletes competing continued the success of Canadian paddlers by bringing in 3 medals.
To find out more about the sprint team’s results, click here.
“I am very pleased that the Canoe Kayak Canada athletes have done so well at the 2019 Pan Am Games,” said Chief Technical Officer of CKC, Graham Barton. “There is a good feeling right now on the Team and the performance at these Games is a positive indication of potential for the future as well.”
The Canadian slalom athletes had excellent runs in qualification, advancing them all to the semis and finals on Sunday.
Canada’s Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON) had a fast and clean run on Sunday, winning her the silver medal in women’s C1 slalom event, behind Brazil’s Ana Satila. Teammate Keenan Simpson (Ottawa, ON), followed in the men’s K1 slalom event and won the bronze medal behind Brazil and Argentina.
“It’s pretty cool. I came with high expectations for this race given that our sport is very Euro-centric,” said Betteridge. “We have a lot of the best paddlers based out of Europe, but we have Ana [SATILA, BRA] who is ranked No. 3 in the world, so I was coming to race and be as close to her as possible and I think I achieved what I came here to do.”
Both athletes also competed in the extreme slalom disciplines qualifying for the semi-finals on the first day of competition. The semi-finals and finals were held on Sunday afternoon where Simpson captured another bronze medal. Betteridge was disqualified in the semis.
Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) nearly made the podium in the men’s C1 event, coming fourth behind USA, Argentina and Brazil. Olivia Norman (Ottawa, ON) had an excellent race in the women’s K1 event, putting her just behind the bronze medal spot in fourth place.
“I am super proud of how the whole team performed here in Lunahuaná,” said Michal Staniszewski, Canada’s national slalom head coach. “The athletes put down strong performances and with three medals it proves that we were well prepared for the Pan-Am Games. I think this experience will help our young athletes to prepare for Tokyo and Paris.”
Visit the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games website here to find all results.
Visit Canoe Kayak Canada’s website to get more information and make sure to follow @PlanetCanoe and @CanoeKayakCAN for more live updates.
Subscribe to Canoe Kayak Canada’s mailing list to get all news and results directly to your email.
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada (CKC) is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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