Canoe Niagara 2013 - Racing gets underway!

canoe kayak sprint welland canada 2013 icf world championships junior under 23 sportscene competition results

Thursday August 1st, 2013 marked the inaugural day of international competition at the newly renovated Welland International Flatwater Centre (WIFC). The Opening Ceremonies of the 2013 ICF Junior and Under 23 Canoe Sprint World Championships kicked off the celebration at the Merritt Park Amphitheatre last night and races began this morning.

Canadian Team
Sunshine broke through just in time for the first race and prevailed for the remainder of the day. The Canadian squad had a good showing throughout the first day of competition as the home team saw four teams advancing to finals on Saturday.

Lissa Bissonnette (Sherbrooke, QC), Alexa Irvin (Kentville, NS), Andreanne Langlois (Trois-Rivières, QC), Sarah Vegas- Dubois (Pointe-Claire, QC) finished a strong second in the K4 Under 23 women 500-meter semifinal, advancing to the final on Saturday. Happy about their finish Lissa Bissonnette said, “we all did our jobs, excited to be at Worlds with our family and friends around us.” Langlois couldn’t help but smile as she described their semifinal. “It was a wonderful race. We did everything we could do and we’re happy about it.”

International Contingency
Australian paddler, William Bain, surged ahead for a first place finish in the K1 U23 Men 1000-meter semifinals 2 securing advancement to the final. Russia and Germany also advanced to the final.

Nineteen-year-old William Bain spoke about his race. "I made improvements in the semifinal and feel comfortable. I have been training on the course for the last 2 weeks." The 2011 K1 Junior World Marathon Champion is racing in K1 1000- meter and K4 1000-meter events this week.

In the K1 U23 Men’s 1000-meter race, Hungarian paddler Bence Dombvári finished first in a challenging semifinal with a time of 3:47.089. Dombvári contends "The [WIFC] might just be the best course in Canada".

Danish paddlers Amalie Thomsen, Maja Irgens, Anne Nielsen and Ida Villumsen finished first in the semifinals. Villumsen commented on their success: “We lost our nervousness in the heat and improved in the semifinal, controlling the middle of the race. We’re already excited about the final.”

Competition resumes tomorrow, Friday August 2nd, at 9am. Admission is free of charge and everyone is welcome. Come out and enjoy the celebrations as we cheer on the athletes from Canada and around the world.

Download results day 1