TOKYO —
It was a superb first day on the water for Canada’s canoe/kayak staff on the Tokyo Olympics on Monday as three of 5 boats certified for the semifinals on the Sea Forest Waterway.
Quebec’s Andreanne Langlois and Nova Scotia’s Michelle Russell each superior to the subsequent spherical of the ladies’s 200-metre kayak single semifinals, a race they take into account “secondary” for them.
“The precedence was the K4 500-metre. The K1 200-metre is a little bit of a deal with for us,” stated Langlois, a 28-year-old from Lac-Beauport, Que. “It was a pleasant shock right this moment. We skilled for this race, however no more than that.”
“The whole lot is simply additional proper now,” stated Russell of Fall River, N.S.
“We have not raced for a very long time, so I assumed, may as nicely put within the expertise.”
Langlois gained her quarterfinal in 41.728 seconds, whereas Russell completed second in hers in 42.940 in a decent race the place 4 kayaks crossed the end line virtually concurrently.
“I am glad to be on the appropriate facet of the picture end,” Russell stated. “I had no concept the place I used to be for the entire race. Once we crossed the road, (Britain’s) Emily Lewis proper subsequent to me, we’re one another and did not know what was occurring.
“I had a sense that I used to be within the first group crossing the road. Now we have a board the place they put the order of the boats crossing the road. We noticed Britain, after which we stored on ready and ready. When my my identify got here out, I do not need to swear, however I went `Bleep yeah!”‘
Langlois led the primary portion of her qualifying warmth after a terrific begin, however at too quick a tempo to keep up over 200 metres, and ended up fifth.
“I used to be too excited,” she stated. “I am a bit like that: I am a sprinter at coronary heart and I simply have to show the swap to ‘on’ and I am off. I’ve realized in the previous couple of years to regulate myself, that is what I did within the quarterfinal,” stated Langlois, who completed sixteenth in Rio.
The 2 athletes have been particularly comfortable to have knocked off any rust as a result of not competing since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I evaluate it to taking off a bandage. The primary race, you are slightly nervous, unsure. My stress degree was excessive,” Langlois stated.
“It feels good. It confirmed me what to work on. It was a like a costume rehearsal for my quarterfinal.”
Russell additionally admitted to being nervous going into the primary warmth, which included two-time Olympic champion Lisa Carrington of New Zealand.
“I had the double Olympic champion proper beside me. That was a superb wake-up name,” she stated. “I used to be comfortable to have improved from the warmth to the quarters.”
Ontario’s Roland Varga and Nova Scotia’s Connor Fitzpatrick additionally superior to the semifinals of the lads’s 1,000-metre canoe double. The duo completed third of their quarterfinal with a time of three:50.768.
Ontarians Simon McTavish, Alanna Bray-Lougheed et Madeline Schmidt all did not qualify.
McTavish completed fourth within the 1000-metre kayak singles, under the cutoff to qualify.
Bray-Lougheed and Schmidt did not progress within the 500-metre kayak double after ending fifth.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Aug. 2, 2021
