Nicholas Oliver, our media contact with USA Canoe/Kayak, put considerable effort into a review of the highlights of the flatwater sprint season of 2013, including what happened on and off the water.
We congratulate everyone involved — especially our friends at the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club.
Click Here for Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club’s Website
Here is Nick’s 2013 Year in Review:
In the first season since the retirement of three-time Olympian Carrie Johnson, the battle for women’s kayak supremacy was wide open. Among a host of Oklahoma City-based paddlers, Kaitlyn McElroy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) emerged as a potent threat in both kayak singles and doubles.
McElroy began the season by winning the K1 200m, K1 500m and K2 500m events at the National Team Trials in Oklahoma City. She would go on to win a Silver and Bronze medal in K2 1000m with her partner Maggie Hogan (Oklahoma City, Okla.) on the World Cup circuit. The duo placed as high as 11th in the Olympic distance 500-meter event at a World Cup. At the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, the duo finished 14th in the K2 500m and 15th in K2 200m.
“In the K2, we had a few ups and downs this season.” McElroy said. “Overall though, Maggie and I work very well together, each bringing something completely different to the boat. I think next year our goal is to increase our max speed since we have a good running speed in the boat, which has served us well in the 1000m. At that distance we have managed to podium at every World Cup we have ever raced as a team! I am really looking forward to next season because I finally feel I am putting all the pieces together both on and off the water, which will lead to better performances in both the K1 and the K2.”
Click HERE for the Slalom Season Recap. Stay tuned for recaps of the ParaCanoe and other paddlesports seasons.
Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club canoeists Ian Ross (Washington, D.C.), Rob Finlayson (Gainesville, Ga.) and Ben Hefner (Gainesville, Ga.) maintained their dominance in U.S. men’s senior canoe. Ross placed 8th in Under-23 C1 1000m at the Junior World Championships in Welland, Canada. Hefner placed 17th in U-23 C1 200m. Among senior paddlers, Finlayson finished 25th in C1 200m at the World Championships.
In men’s kayak, 2012 Olympian Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) and Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) continued to vie for the top spot in the 200-meter distance. Hornsby won the first round, besting Dolan at Team Trials. Hornsby’s season was highlighted by a 6th place finish at World Cup No. 3 in Poznan, Poland. The younger Dolan finished 11th in the U-23 World Championships. U-23 kayakers Chris Miller (Gainesville, Ga.) and Stanton Collins (Gainesville, Ga.) finish 13th in both K2 200m and 1000m.
Junior
Young American paddlers competed and excelled on a variety of international stages. At the Junior World Championships, Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Club teammates Makenzie Sousley and Savannah Jones finished 4th in women’s Junior C2 500m. Dylan Puckett (Jones, Okla.) and Istvan Urban (San Diego, Calif.) placed 13th in K2 200m.
Competing at the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Racice, Czech Republic, Urban and Jones would miss the podium by less than half a second in both the Junior K2 200m and 1000m. Sousley won Bronze in Junior C1 200m and Silver medals with Jones in Junior C2 200m and 500m at the Pan American Championships in Puerto Rico.
It was a plethora of young paddlers like Sousley, Jones, and kayakers Natalie Griffin and Alyson Morse that helped the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Club win its second consecutive National Championship team title. Griffin won two Golds and one Bronze medal in junior level races at Nationals. Morse won two Golds in Junior K1 200m and 500m at the Lake Placid International in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“The USA Junior, U23 and Senior Sprint teams had some great results, and have provided something to build on, moving forward into this next part of the Olympic cycle,” said U.S. High Performance Manager Michele Eray. “Our club programs continue to strengthen, with Gig Harbor carrying their momentum from 2012 and winning the Club title at the National Sprint Championships. Looking ahead to the 2020 Olympic Games, with the Women’s Canoe event being added to the program, it is also exciting to note that Women’s Canoe was added to the 2015 PanAm program. I am excited about the prospects this gives the USA, and women in paddling sports.”
Other Highlights:
- Zach Guay (Seattle, Wash.) and Nick Baert win Bronze in Junior C2 1000m at Pan American Championships
- Canoeists Reidar Jacobson, Mathew Lam, Kenny Kasperbauer, Hayden Tieman, and Jakob Tayman earn Top 10 finishes at the Olympic Hopes Regatta.
- Bria Conforth, Evan Truesdale, and Paul Chevallier set new records in the Barton Bantam Fall Kilometer Club.
- Team USA wins the Grand Prix Trophy, awarded to the country with the most medals in Under-18 events at the Lake Placid International Regatta
- U.S. canoe boats win eleven medals at Ottawa Canada Day Regatta.
- Scotty Griefenburger is awarded ICF Official certification at Pan American Championships.
Off the Water:
- ICF announced support for adding Women’s Canoe (C1) 200m event to Tokyo 2020 Olympic program, with plans to achieve complete gender equity by 2024. (link)
- Women’s Canoe events will be on the program at the Pan American Games for the first time at the Toronto 2015 Games. (link)
- Point Loma Nazarene University becomes second U.S. university to offer financial assistance for canoe and kayak athletes, joining Oklahoma City University. (link)
- Oklahoma City Boathouse District adds stadium lights and Olympic-quality start gates to its world-class sprint venue.
- USA Canoe/Kayak hires South African Olympian Michele Eray as High Performance Manager. (link)
- Former canoeist Jim Ross is one of two inaugural recipients of the Havens Leadership Award. (link)
“I think it is amazing that women in canoe are finally receiving equality and being allowed to race in regattas,” Sousely said. “We have been working hard to be entered in as many races as possible and now we can go to the next level.”
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, USA Canoe/Kayak is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation. It governs the Olympic disciplines of Flatwater Sprint, Whitewater Slalom, the Paralympic discipline of Paracanoe and sanctions Freestyle, Marathon, Outrigger, Wildwater, Stand Up Paddle Board, Kayak Polo, Dragon Boat and Canoe Sailing in the United States. For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at www.usack.org, on Twitter at @usacanoekayak and Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/USACanoeKayak.
