Three years ago in Tokyo, Canadian paddlers Laurence Vincent Lapointe and Katie Vincent stormed back from fifth place in the final 250 metres of the C-2 500m canoe sprint, pushing their way to an Olympic bronze medal.
It was the first time the Olympics featured women’s canoe sprint events after years of fighting for women to have the opportunity, and the Canadian women made their mark. Vincent Lapointe also took home a silver medal in an individual race, the C-1 200m.
Now, Mississauga, Ont.’s Vincent is back for her second Olympics and looking to upgrade that bronze medal as part of a 13-athlete Canadian canoe-kayak team in Paris.
“From everything I’ve seen of her, in my career and racing against her and also with her, she’s a very strong athlete throughout the race and never gives up even at the end of the race,” said the now-retired Vincent Lapointe.
Watching her former partner in the water, Vincent Lapointe can see her strong will, but also her elegance in paddling.
“It almost looks like she’s effortless, but she’s really, really good at that specific type of paddling, which makes her really fast and just a very good athlete,” said Vincent Lapointe, who is an analyst with Radio-Canada.
Canoe-kayak sprint coverage begins on Tuesday morning. Live Olympic coverage will be on CBC TV, CBC Gem, the CBC Olympics app and CBC Olympics website.
A new partner
After Vincent Lapointe retired, Vincent teamed up with Windsor Junction, N.S.’s Sloan MacKenzie. The pair captured gold together at the Pan American Games last year in the C-2 500m.
“After the Tokyo Olympics, I had no idea what the road to Paris was going to look like,” 28-year-old Vincent said in a press release after the Olympic canoe-kayak team was named.
“There were many unknowns. To be here today with new coaches and teammates going to my second Olympics gives me so much pride and joy.”
They also own a world championship bronze from 2023 and a silver medal from an ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup stop in May.
WATCH | Vincent reflects on her career ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris:
Ariel Helwani sits down with Mississauga, Ont., native as she prepares for her second Olympic Games.
Heats for the women’s Olympic C-2 500m event begin on Tuesday at 5 a.m. ET. The fastest two pairs in each heat move directly to the semifinals.
The final race is scheduled for Friday at 6:50 a.m. ET.
Vincent Lapointe sees a good fit between Vincent and the 22-year-old MacKenzie, who will be able to soak up Vincent’s experience while bringing strong paddling to their boat.
“When we were paddling, I was in the front but I was taking care of the power,” Vincent Lapointe said.
“I was also taking care of the stroke rate. But I was mostly reacting to Katie’s input because she likes to call the placement in the race — let’s do this here, let’s do this there. She’s really good at taking care of that and also steering the boat and everything.”
Podium potential
Vincent will also compete individually in the C-1 200m.
Heats for the women’s C-1 200m begin on Thursday at 4:30 a.m. ET. Like the doubles event, the best two finishers in each heat get to advance directly to the semifinals. The final race is set for Saturday at 7:50 a.m.
Vincent finished eighth in the C-1 200m in Tokyo. Only a few months later, she won gold in the event at the ICF World Championships, her first individual world title.
She’s also the reigning world champion in the C-1 500m and C-1 5000m, as well as the mixed C-2 500m with Connor Fitzpatrick, but none of those events are contested at the Olympics.
Vincent Lapointe sees strong podium potential for Canada for both Vincent individually and with MacKenzie.
But there’s also a third Canadian paddler she thinks has a chance to win a medal in Paris.
That’s Sophia Jensen, the 22-year-old up-and-coming athlete from Chelsea, Que. Like Vincent, she’ll be competing in the C-1 200m. She’s coming off a bronze medal result at the Pan American Games, plus a sixth-place finish at worlds.
“She has a very different style from Katie,” Vincent Lapointe said.
“She’s smaller in size but she’s incredibly explosive. A really, really strong powerful athlete.”
Their competition in the solo race includes the Olympic champion, American Nevin Harrison, and the reigning C-1 200m world champion, Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys of Cuba.
Vincent Lapointe still holds the record for the best time in the world in the C-1 200m: 44.50 seconds set in 2018.