MONTEMOR-O-VELHO, Portugal -- Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., claimed the first gold medal of the ICF canoe sprint world cup season by winning the Men's C1 1000-metre race on Saturday.
Oldershaw, who won the Canadian Team Trials two weeks ago, earned his second top Canadian placement needed for selection to Pan American Games and World Championships teams.
Oldershaw also raced the heat of the Men's C1 500 and finished second to put him straight through to Sunday's final. The 1000-metre race is the Olympic distance in which Oldershaw won bronze in 2012.
"I'm really happy with the first international race of the year," said Oldershaw. "I knew with the wind it would be a fast race so I tried to stay on the gas the entire way and it is a good confidence boost for the rest of the season."
Laurence Vincent-Lapointe of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Katie Vincent of Mississauga, Ont., captured Canada's second gold of the day in the Women's C2 200.
Adam van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., finished fifth in the Men's K1 1000. Van Koeverden, a four-time Olympic medalist, also won his heat in the Men's K1 500 to advance directly to Sunday's final.
Olympic bronze medalist Mark de Jonge of Halifax won his semi-final in the Men's K1 200 to advance to Sunday's final. Ben Russell of Dartmouth, N.S., and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny of Trois-Rivieres, Que., won their heat in the Men's C2 1000 to skip the semi and have advanced directly to Sunday's final.
Michelle Russell of Waverley, N.S., placed second in the B-final of the Women's K1 500 to rank eleventh overall.
