Canoe Kayak Canada – Results part of Olympic selection process
 
PEMBERTON, BC (May 22, 2016) – Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON) and Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) posted double wins in their classes yesterday, on the first day of Canadian Canoe Slalom Team Trials at the Rutherford Creek Whitewater Park near Pemberton, BC.  
 
Results of the trials count towards Olympic selection in the Men’s K1 and Men’s C1 events where Canada holds quota spots. The field will get narrowed to a maximum of three athletes in each event who will head to Europe to compete at World Cups. Points accumulated at World Cups 2 and 3 will be the deciding factor for selections to the Canadian Olympic Team.

In Men’s K1, Michael Tayler swept the first two of four runs taking place this weekend. Tayler became an Olympian in 2012 after edging out his training partner John Hastings (Aurora, ON) by fractions of a second to take the spot four years ago. Hastings posted two second place results today. Hastings retired from competition briefly after 2012 but came back to qualify the Men’s K1 quota spot last year in Minden Hills, ON. With Hastings holding bonus points from last year’s qualification and Tayler taking top points from his two wins today, the two are ahead on the Men’s K1 leaderboard. A new course will be set today and the Men’s K1 athletes will be focused on achieving top-3 results to get them to the next round of selections at World Cups 2 and 3. 

Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) won both runs in Men’s C1 by a solid margin. The results were the same for both runs with Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) finishing second and Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) finishing third.
 
In addition to the Olympic selection process, the Trials will also be used to select athletes for additional senior teams including World Cups. Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) won both runs in the Women’s K1 while Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) raced alone to win the Women’s C1. Athletes in all classes are chasing performance standards in addition to a top-3 ranking in order to be considered for teams.

Competition continues today at the Rutherford Creek Whitewater Park with two more runs.
 
Follow Results
 
 
Summary of Results

First Run

Second Run

Men’s K1
1) Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON)
2) John Hastings (Aurora, ON)
3) David Ford (Edmonton, AB)
 

Men’s K1
1) Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON)
2) John Hastings (Aurora, ON)
3) Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB)

Men’s C1
1) Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
2) Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON)
3) Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
 

Men’s C1
1) Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
2) Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON)
3) Liam Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
 

Women’s K1
1) Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC)
2) Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB)
3) Thea Froehlich (Ottawa, ON)

Women’s K1
1) Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC)
2) Thea Froehlich (Ottawa, ON)
3) Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB)
 

Women’s C1
1) Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB)
 

Women’s C1
1) Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB)
 

 
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Paddling 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