Canoe Kayak Canada – RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (August 17, 2016) –  Ryan Cochrane (Windsor, NS) and Hugues Fournel (Montréal, QC) have qualified for the final of the Men’s K2 200m at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The kayak crew finished third in their semi-final today to advance to the final taking place tomorrow at 8:08 a.m. EST.

Cochrane and Fournel were nominated to the Canadian Olympic Team just over two weeks ago. Canada was awarded quota spots for the event recently after a Russian crew was suspended due to a doping infraction. Cochrane and Fournel finished seventh at the London 2012 Olympic Games and will compete for a spot on the podium tomorrow morning.

Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC) had a solid race in the K1 500m heat to finish second. She went out hard in the semi-final and despite leading for most of the first half of the race, she fell back in the final 200 metres and did not advance. She will race the Women’s K4 500m on Friday with Andréanne Langlois (Québec, QC), Genevieve Orton (Lake Echo, NS), and KC Fraser (Toronto, ON).

Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON) raced the heat and semi-final in the Men’s C1 200m but did not advance. Oldershaw won bronze in the C1 1000m at the London 2012 Games. The C1 1000m is his primary event and he ranked twelfth overall in Rio on Monday.

CBC will broadcast the races each day starting at 8 a.m. EST. Canoe Kayak action continues through to Saturday.

Results

Summary of Results

Athlete	Event	Result
Ryan Cochrane (Windsor, NS) Hugues Fournel (Montréal, QC)	Men’s K2 200m	3rd in semi Advanced to A-final
Émilie Fournel (Montréal, QC)	Women’s K1 500m	7th in semi Did not advance
Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON)	Men’s C1 1000m	7th in semi Did not advance

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Canoe Kayak Canada has been one of Canada’s top performing summer sports having won an impressive count of 24 Olympic medals. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization which 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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For more information:

Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, Canoe Kayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca