Adam van Koeverden wins gold and silver at paddling World Cup - May 29th, 2010

Burlington’s Mark Oldershaw also makes two trips to the podium

SZEGED, Hungary – Adam van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., won the gold medal in the gruelling K-1 5,000-metre race, a new event for this year’s world championships, and added a silver in the K-1 1,000 to cap a four-medal Canadian performance Saturday at a World Cup paddling competition.

Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., was also a double medallist with bronze in both the C-1 1,000 and C-1 5,000.

The men’s K-1 5,000, a mass start race with 32 entries, went down to the final strokes and van Koeverden crossed the finish first in 21 minutes and 19.037 seconds.  He edged Leonard Jenkins of South Africa second in 21:19.139.  Ken Wallace of Australia was third and Corey Hamilton of Ottawa 14^th.

‘’International long distance paddling is really competitive,’’ said van Koeverden.  ‘’And it’s quite a change from racing in your lane where you have your space.  In this event paddles and boats are clanging and sometimes you have to push another boat away so it won’t hit you.’’

Van Koeverden was involved in another close race in the K-1 1,000.  Aleh Yurenia of Belarus was first in 3:27.356, van Koeverden second in 3:28.148 and Wallace third in 3:28.724.  Angus Mortimer of Ottawa took fifth spot in 3:30.452.

‘’I decided early on I wasn’t going to try and lead the whole way and concentrate more on the last 300 metres,’’ said van Koeverden, a three-time Olympic medallist.  ‘’I was much more comfortable today with that strategy.  I’m usually a front racer and sometimes that’s not always the best way to win a race.  I was happy with my finish but the Belarussian had a better one.’’

In the men’s C-1 1,000, the top-three finished within a second of each other.  World champion Vadim Menkov of Uzbekistan was the winner in 3:55.224, Mathieu Gouble of France second in 3:55.542 and Oldershaw was third out of lane one in 3:56.022.  Thomas Hall of Pointe-Claire, Que., was ninth.

‘’It was one of my best races in the last couple of years,’’ said Oldershaw, fourth in the event at the world championships last year.  ‘’Lane one can sometimes be difficult.  I think it helped me at the start but it would have been great to be in the middle at the finish. I just focused on what I needed to do. To be close to those guys this early is a real confidence boost.’’

In the men’s C-1 5,000, Oldershaw and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny of Trois-Rivieres, Que., were third and fourth respectively finishing within 20 seconds of winner Kurt Kuschela of Germany. 

Beauchesne-Sévigny and Andrew Russell of Dartmouth, N.S., were seventh in the C-2 1,000. 

For the women, Mylanie Barré of Lac-Beauport, Que., Émilie Fournel of Montreal, Genevieve Orton of Lake Echo, N.S., and Kristin Gauthier of Ottawa were sixth in the K-4 500 as were Jillian D’Alessio of Middle Sackville, N.S., and Kathleen Fraser of Mississauga, Ont., in the K-2 1,000.  Fraser and Hannah Vaughan of Dartmouth were sixth and seventh in the K-1 5,000.

Canada won two B finals.  Benjamin Russell of Dartmouth and Richard Dalton of Halifax were first in the C-2 1,000 for 10^th overall as were Connor Taras of Waverley, N.S., Brady Reardon of Burlington, Ont., Christopher Mehak of Toronto and Rhys Hill, Ottawa in the K-4 1,000.  Steve Jorens of Candiac, Que., and Richard Dober Jr., of Trois-Rivieres were seventh in the K-2 1,1000.

In the 200-metre heats and semis on Saturday morning five Canadian boats advanced to Sunday’s finals.  In the K-2 200, Ryan Cochrane, Windsor, N.S. and Hugues Fournel, Dorval, Que., along with Dober Jr, and Andrew Willows, Gananoque, Ont.., finished 1-2 in the same semifinal heat to advance.

Dober Jr., added a second 200 final in the K-1. Also in 200 finals are Dalton in the C-1 and Beauchesne-Sévigny and Andrew Russell in the C-2.

Competition ends Sunday with the 200 and 500 finals.

Full results at: http://results.mkksz.hu/en/timetable/

More information: www.canoekayak.ca

For photos from today contact: llafreniere@canoekayak.ca

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