This past weekend marked a major milestone for Olympic hopefuls on the USA Canoe/Kayak teams. Over one hundred of the best U.S. sprint athletes took to the water on Friday and Saturday for the USA 2011 Sprint National Team Trials at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
The event represents one of the first steps toward achieving the Olympic dream. The elite athletes were competing for spots on the 2011 U.S. Sprint National Team, which will participate in the upcoming World Cups. The Trials mark the beginning of the process of naming the team for the 2011 World Championship and the 2011 Pan American Games, which are currently only two events in which the U.S. can qualify spots for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
“Since the end of the 2010 World Championships, athletes have turned their attention to the 2011 season and this day of qualifying for the World Cups,” said USA Canoe/Kayak National Teams Director William Irving. “The athletes have poured numerous hours of training both on and off the water to prove that they belong amongst the top paddlers in the World. The athletes are focused on qualifying boat places for the 2012 Olympic Games, which is the end result that all of them are looking towards.”
The first day of competition at the USA Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Team Trials featured the strength of veteran leaders and introduced a wave of new talent to the National Program. Aiming for her third consecutive Olympic appearance at the 2012 Games in London, Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) surged to an early lead in the Women’s K1 500 meter event and held off the field for a dominant win in the day’s most anticipated race.
“Carrie’s performance proves to the U.S. Olympic Committee and her teammates that she is the stellar athlete that we know she is under race conditions,” said USA Canoe/Kayak National Coach Stein Jorgensen. “Her training has been going extremely well and her Minimaxx data device on board her boat documents she is paddling better than ever before.”
“This years Sprint Trials is the first step for athletes hoping to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics” said SDCKT Head Coach Chris Barlow.
In the Men’s K1 1,000 meter event, Luke Michael (Sydney, Australia/Hawaii), a newcomer to the U.S. National Program, captured top honors in his first Team Trials as a U.S. Citizen. Michael later teamed up with brother, Jake (Sydney, Australia/Hawaii), taking Gold in the Men’s K2 1,000 meter race.
“Luke and Jake have infused our program with a new level of intensity and focus on and off the water,” said William Irving, USA Canoe/Kayak’s National Teams Director. “Their performance along with their teammates will bring the United States back to a fielding a competitive team boat on the international stage.”
Highlights:
FINAL A of Senior Women’s K-1 500m
1.Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.)
2.Krisztina Zur (Newport Beach, Calif.)
3.Maggie Hogan (San Diego, Calif.)
4.Jen Burke (San Diego, Calif.)
5.Ariel Farrar-Wellman (Bethesda, Md.)
FINAL A of Senior Men’s K-1 1000m
1.Luke Michael (Sydney, Australia/Hawaii)
2.Morgan House (Gainesville, Ga.)
3.Jake Michael (Sydney, Australia/Hawaii)
4.Pat Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii)
5.Richard Sprout
FINAL A of Junior Men’s C-1 500m
1.Bryse Paffile (Gig Harbor)
2.David Podloch (Washington Canoe Club)
3.Dustin Sousley (Gig Harbor)
4.Wilbert Lam (Cascade)
5.Zach Guay (Seattle Canoe Kayak Club)
FINAL A of Junior Men’s K-1 500m
1.Kalei Kahookele (Hawaii Canoe Kayak Team)
2.Sean Barlow (San Diego Canoe Kayak Team)
3.Kevin Stock (San Diego Canoe Kayak Team)
4.Stanton Collins (Lanier Canoe Kayak Club)
5.Tanner Easterday (Lanier Canoe Kayak Club)
FINAL A of Junior Men’s C-1 1000m
1.Bryse Paffile (Gig Harbor)
2.Dustin Sousley (Gig Harbor)
3.Zach Guay (Seattle Canoe Kayak Club)
4.Wilbert Lam (Cascade)
5.David Podloch (Washington Canoe Club)
FINAL A of Junior Men’s K-1 1000m
1.Sean Barlow (San Diego Canoe Kayak Team)
2.Stanton Collins (Lanier Canoe Kayak Club)
3.Kevin Stock (San Diego Canoe Kayak Team)
4.Kalei Kahookele (Hawaii Canoe Kayak Team)
5.Tanner Easterday (Lanier Canoe Kayak Club)
For more information on the USA Canoe/Kayak Team check out:
USACK.org