Dartmouth’s Benjamin Russell added to Canadian team for world canoe and kayak championships - July 29th, 2010

OTTAWA- CanoeKayak Canada announced Thursday that Benjamin Russell of Dartmouth, N.S., has been added to the Canadian team for the world canoe and kayak championships August 18-22 in Poznan, Poland. 

Russell’s addition brings the total team count to 31 athletes.  It is the second year in a row Russell will compete at the worlds.  He was a member of last year’s squad at the 2009 world championships in Halifax where he helped Canada to a fifth place finish in the C-4 1,000. 

“I’m excited to be on the team,” said Benjamin Russell, 22.  “I’ve really brought my game up this season and I’m sure I can help our team do very well at the world championships.”

At this year’s worlds, Russell will join forces with veteran Thomas Hall of Pointe-Claire, Que., in the C-2 500.  Hall won the bronze medal in the C-1 1,000 at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

“Thomas and I have paddled together before in the C-4 so that should really help us,” said Russell.  “We had a couple of training runs today and it looks like we are a very good fit for this event.”

Graham Barton, the sprint high performance director for CanoeKayak Canada is pleased the selection process worked in Russell’s favour.

“Benjamin and Thomas are both excited about their potential in the C-2 500,” said Barton.  “They both have solid international experience and sometimes when you click in the C-2 right off the bat you can get some pretty good results. They’ve both performed well in their events this season so it will be interesting to see how they fare.”

Benjamin Russell’s older brother Andrew Russell was among the 30 athletes announced to the squad on July 19.

The Canadian paddling team is coming off its strongest overall showing at the world championships last summer in Halifax.  Canada placed a best-ever third overall in the nation standings earning one gold and three bronze medals.

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