Paddlers Vincent-Lapointe and Vincent become C-2 500m world champions
Meet Team Canada’s latest world champions.
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent were golden at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Racice, winning the women’s C-2 500m.
The duo finished in a time of one minute 56.752 seconds to beat Russian duo Irina Andreeva and Olesia Romasenko by more than half a second (1:57.264). Belarus’s team of Lena Nazdrova and Kamila Bobr rounded out the podium, finishing third in 1:57.858.
Katie Vincent and Laurence Vincent-Lapointe react to winning gold in the C-2 500m at the 2017 ICF World Sprint Championships. (Photo: ICF)
Saturday’s victory was extra special for the pair, since this year’s event marks the first world championships since the IOC announced that the women’s C-2 500m would be added to the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020. Those Games will mark the Olympic debut of women’s canoe events., something Vincent-Lapointe has long lobbied for.
“We do have our own separate C-1 thing that we do, and that’s what our strength is,” Vincent was quoted by the ICF. “We do our best thing in C-1 and we put it all together. Her strength is the start and mine is the finish so we help each other really well when it comes to the C-2.”
Just a month ago, Vincent won gold in the C-1 200m at the U23 world championships. Meanwhile Vincent-Lapointe is the reigning women’s C-1 World Cup champion.
Vincent-Lapointe is having quite the showing in Racice. After winning the gold, she set a C-1 200m world record of 45.787s in the semifinals. As a four-time world champion in the individual event, all eyes will be on Vincent-Lapointe as she looks to become a double world champion in Racice on Sunday. The C-1 200m will also be on the program at Tokyo 2020.
Canadians can live stream Vincent-Lapointe and the rest of Canada’s squad as they continue their quest for the podium bright and early on Sunday at 4:00a.m. ET here.
