(Tokyo) Les Canadiens ont connu une première journée quelque peu surprenante en canoë-kayak aux Jeux olympiques de Tokyo, alors que pas moins de trois bateaux des cinq inscrits se sont qualifiés pour les demi-finales e-finales Sea.
Quebecer Adrien Langlois and partner Michelle Russell reached Tuesday’s races in the K1 200m, a “secondary” race for them.
“The priority was the K4 500m. The K1 200m is a treat for us,” the 28-year-old Kayaker from Lac-Beauport said on Monday. It was a nice surprise today. We trained for this race, but nothing more. I am very happy .”
“It’s all a bonus right now,” confirmed Russell, of Val River, Nova Scotia. It has been a long time since we participated in the competitions, and I thought to myself that it is better to gain all the experience possible. ”
Langlois won the quarter-finals with a time of 41,728 seconds. Russell delivered a frantic race as he finished four kayaks almost nose-to-nose.
“I’m glad I ended up on the safe side of the picture,” she said. I had no idea where I was during the race. When we crossed the finish line, Emily Lewis (British) and I were looking at each other without knowing what was going on.
“I felt like I was done with the lead group. I looked at the table where we see the boating rating. I saw (British) Deborah Kerr, and then we waited and waited. When my name finally came up, I didn’t want to say it again, but I shouted a bad word!”
Langlois led the first part of his qualifying wave after a great start, but too fast to keep it over 200 metres.
“I was so excited. I’m a little bit like this: I’m a runner at my heart and I just have to put the ‘play key’ on and it starts! I’ve learned in the last few years to control myself, that’s what I did in the quarter-finals,” Langlois explained, 16 years oldNS to Rio de Janeiro.
The two women were particularly happy that they removed the rust so quickly, that they – like the rest of the Canadians registered elsewhere – were in their first international competition since the World Championships in September 2019.
“I compare it to removing the bandage. The first race, you’re a little feverish and uncertain. Langlois admitted that my stress level was high. That’s fine. He showed me what to work on. It was a rehearsal for the quarter-finals.”
“There was rust, and I’m not embarrassed to say it. I was nervous too. By my side was the two-time Olympic champion and world champion (New Zealand Lisa Carrington): It was a good wake-up call! I’m happy with the improvement between qualifying and the quarter-finals.”
The other qualifying boat is the C2 1000m by Ontarian Roland Varga and his Nova Scotia teammate Conor Fitzpatrick. They advanced to the semi-finals by finishing third in the quarter-finals, the latter of which gave them access to Tuesday’s races. They covered the distance in three minutes, 50768 seconds (3:50768).
However, Simon McTavish, Alana Bray-Lugged and Madeleine Schmidt came up short in Ontario.
In the K1 1000m, McTavish scored 3:52,467, putting him in fourth and preventing him from continuing the adventure.
In the K2500 metres, Brae Lougheed and Schmidt were unable to qualify for the semi-finals by finishing fifth in their warm-up with a score of 1:51,862. Only the first four boats qualified for the semi-finals.
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