Canada's Vincent wins gold with world best time in 200m sprint canoe

PARIS — Canadian canoeist Katie Vincent wanted to push herself a little bit harder.

The 28-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., captured bronze at the Paris Olympics on Friday and still had one race to go.

“I finished (Friday) with a bronze. I got back to my hotel room and I’m thinking ‘OK, I’ve got two bronze. Maybe it’s time to mix it up, try something new.’ So that kind of motivated me to come out today find another gear, dig a little deeper," Vincent said Saturday. "I just wanted to have a really good race.”

The extra effort paid off.

Vincent raced to gold in the women's single 200-metre canoe sprint final on Saturday.

The medal marked Canada’s eighth gold and 25th overall at the Paris Games. Both totals set a new mark for the most the country has won at a non-boycotted Olympics.

It was Vincent's second medal in Paris, coming after she and Sloan MacKenzie of Dartmouth, N.S., won bronze in the women’s double 500m on Friday.

She also took bronze in the women's doubles 500m at the Tokyo Games.

Vincent finished her semifinal in first on Saturday morning, but didn't leap out to the head of the pack in the medal race.

Instead, she gathered speed as she powered down the course at Stade Nautique on the outskirts of Paris, and ultimately paddled to a photo finish with Nevin Harrison of the United States.

Several minutes passed as the judges evaluated who crossed the line first.

“I knew that I was first or second, I think, when I crossed the line," Vincent said of those moments. "And then I felt ‘OK, upgrade from bronze, at least.’ So I was pretty excited,” she said. “And then I think I deep down, I think I won. But you can't get ahead of yourself until you know, right?"

Harrison, who won gold in the event three years ago, wasn't certain who would claim the top spot.

“I didn’t sit there and think I’d won," she said. "I’m never going to celebrate before I know for sure.”

When the word "Canada" popped up atop the leaderboard on the big screen, Vincent glanced toward the thousands-strong crowd.

"I looked over and I saw so many Canadian flags waving in the crowd," she said. "And think that was a really special moment, and that made me really excited."

Vincent finished in a world and Olympic-best 44.12 seconds. Harrison was just behind at 44.13. Cuba's Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys took bronze with a time of 44.36.

The Canadian said it was her best time "by a lot."

"I’m pretty excited about that," Vincent said. "I think it makes it better when you know you’ve done your best as well.”

Sophia Jensen, of Chelsea, Que., came in sixth in the final with a personal-best time of 45.08.

“That's super, super exciting. Only up from here so that's awesome," said the 22-year-old rookie Olympian. "I think this is the beginning of my story.”

Earlier on Saturday, kayaker Michelle Russell, of Fall River, N.S., came eighth in the women's single 500m final, crossing in 1:58.83. The 32-year-old two-time Olympian finished second in her semifinal with a time of 1:50.28.

"(In semifinals) it's two spots up for grabs, so everyone's going to try their best, everyone is going to bring it," Russell said. "And then I just had to focus on what I was doing and just keep attacking and just never settle for an easy stroke.”

Kayaker Riley Melanson of Dartmouth, N.S., finished sixth in a placing race.

Canada's sprint canoe and kayak results in Paris say a lot about the country, Vincent said.

"The level of the sport just keeps going up and up, and we're just trying to stay leaders and stay forward with everything, and to keep competing at the high level," she said.

“I think Canada is a canoeing country and that shouldn’t be underrated.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2024.