Largest Canadian rowing team in 25 years nominated to represent Team Canada at Tokyo 2020

VICTORIA (June 15, 2021) – Rowing Canada Aviron and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s rowing team nominated to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The 29 athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their performances at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta and a series of internal assessment camps. With 10 boats at the start line in Tokyo, this will be Canada’s largest Olympic rowing team since the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, when Canada also sent 10 crews. They were led by Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Marnie McBean who with her partner — the late, great Kathleen Heddle — became the first Canadians to win three career Olympic gold medals. Canada brought home six medals from Atlanta 1996.

“With so much uncertainty as to whether these Olympic Games would actually happen, this announcement is so surreal,” said Caileigh Filmer, 2018 world champion in the women’s pair. “I am thrilled to get to represent Team Canada and race my heart out in Tokyo. These Games are so special because it will be the first time since the start of the global pandemic that the world will come together, unified. I hope to inspire Canadians through our courage and bravery, as we celebrate coming together for something bigger than ourselves.” 

Filmer and partner Hillary Janssens rowed to a gold medal at the 2018 World Championships in the women’s pair event, followed by a bronze medal performance at the 2019 World Championships in Linz, Austria. Filmer represented Canada at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the women’s eight. 

“It’s truly an amazing feeling to be named to my third Olympic team,” said Olympic silver medallist, Will Crothers. “We are so fortunate to be able to do what we do while representing a country that is so well respected on the international stage. It’s also special to be representing all of the athletes that have come before us and our organization as there are so many amazing people that get the athletes to the start line. There’s a lot of medal potential on this team, and I can’t wait to watch everybody pour everything they have onto the course in Tokyo!”

Crothers was a member of the men’s eight who won silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He will sit in the stroke seat of the men’s four, a new crew combination who recently qualified the boat for Tokyo at the Final Olympic Qualifier in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The veteran crew on the men’s side will be Conlin McCabe and Kai Langerfeld, who will compete in the men’s pair. McCabe won silver in the eight in his Olympic debut at London 2012. He and Langerfeld were both in the four that made the A final at Rio 2016. 

On the current Olympic program, the eight is the only boat with a coxswain to pace and steer the boat. Canada’s Kristen Kit will cox the women’s eight boat at her first Olympic Games. Kit won a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the PR3 mixed coxed four – the first Paralympic medal ever for Canada in rowing. Kit will be the second Canadian summer athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Consistently a podium contender, Canada has four Olympic medals in the women’s eight, the last being the silver from London 2012. The returning Olympians in the boat are Susanne Grainger, Lisa Roman and Christine Roper, who finished fifth in the eight at Rio 2016. 

A total of 41 Olympic medals have been won by Canadian rowers, making rowing Canada’s third-most successful summer Olympic sport. Olympic history will be made at Tokyo 2020 as rowing becomes fully gender-equal, featuring identical events for men and women. 

Each rowing race covers a distance of 2000m on a six-lane course. Depending on the number of entries, there will be preliminary heats, repechages, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. 

Rowing will take place from July 23 to July 30 (Days 0 to 7) at the Sea Forest Waterway.

“It would come as no surprise to anyone that this is a special nomination announcement to me,” said Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission, Marnie McBean. “This rowing team is strong and I’m so excited to see them race in Tokyo. I’m sure the success at the recent Olympic qualifier, where Canadian rowers secured three of the three quota spots they raced for, is a great harbinger for the rest of the team and shows the quality of the training they have been able to do.”

The athletes and coaches nominated are:

Women’s Coxed Eight

1. Susanne Grainger (London, Ont.)
2. Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski (Calgary, Alta.)
3. Kristen Kit (St. Catharines, Ont.)
4. Madison Mailey (Lions Bay, B.C.)
5. Sydney Payne (Toronto, Ont.)
6. Andrea Proske (Langley, B.C.)
7. Lisa Roman (Langley, B.C.)
8. Christine Roper (London, Ont.)
9. Avalon Wasteneys (Campbell River, B.C.)

Women’s Four

1. Stephanie Grauer (Vancouver, B.C.)
2. Nicole Hare (Calgary, Alta.)
3. Jennifer Martins (Toronto, ON)
4. Kristina Walker (Wolfe Island, Ont.)

Men’s Four

1. Jakub Buczek (Kitchener, Ont.)
2. Will Crothers (Kingston, Ont.)
3. Luke Gadsdon (Hamilton, Ont.)
4. Gavin Stone (Brampton, Ont.)

Women’s Pair

1. Caileigh Filmer (Victoria, B.C.)
2. Hillary Janssens (Cloverdale, B.C.)

Men’s Pair

1. Kai Langerfeld (North Vancouver, B.C.)
2. Conlin McCabe (Brockville, Ont.)

Women’s Double Sculls

1. Jessica Sevick (Strathmore, Alta.)
2. Gabrielle Smith (Unionville, ON)

Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls

1. Patrick Keane (Victoria, B.C.)
2. Maxwell Lattimer (Delta, B.C.)

Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls

1. Jennifer Casson (Kingston, Ont.)
2. Jill Moffatt (Bethany, Ont.)

Women’s Single Sculls

1. Carling Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.)

Men’s Single Sculls

1. Trevor Jones (Lakefield, Ont.)

Alternates

1. Joshua King (Ottawa, Ont.)
2. Ivy Elling Quaintance (Sidney, B.C.)
3. Trish Mara (Victoria, B.C.)
4. Morgan Rosts (Jordan, Ont.)
5. Rebecca Zimmerman (Toronto, Ont.)

Coaches

1. Dick Tonks (Cambridge, New Zealand)
2. Michelle Darvill (London, Ont.)
3. Jeremy Ivey (St. John’s, Nfld.)
4. Phil Marshall (Brockville, Ont.)
5. Terry Paul (Victoria, B.C.)

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.

The latest Team Canada Tokyo 2020 roster can be found here and the qualification tracker can be found here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Colleen Coderre, Communications Lead
Rowing Canada Aviron
C: 613-530-6217
E: coderre@rowingcanada.org 

Josh Su, Specialist, Public Relations
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-464-4060
E: jsu@olympic.ca