Canada's Vincent, MacKenzie making the most of sprint canoe's Olympic spotlight

Canada's Sloan MacKenzie, right, and Katie Vincent pose with the flag after winning bronze medals in the women's canoe double 500m at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press)

Katie Vincent made a compelling case for another generation of Canadian canoeists to follow in her footsteps.

Vincent, from Mississauga, Ont., teamed with Sloan MacKenzie of Windsor Junction, N.S., to take the bronze medal in the women's sprint canoe double 500-metre final on Friday. It's Vincent's second Olympic bronze in the event after finishing third with three years ago in Tokyo.

She says her sport gets limited exposure outside the Olympics, but she's been making it count when the spotlight is on sprint canoe.

"For our sport, the Olympics is the only time we’re on TV. So to know that there are kids at home who might be seeing the sport for the first time and may say to their parents, 'Hey, where’s the nearest canoeing club?' — it’s pretty special to be able to introduce people to our sport," Vincent said.

"It’s part of my purpose to show the world that canoeing is Canadian, and maybe some of the media (coverage) we get from this can inspire kids to look for the nearest canoeing club. They’re all over Canada, and they’re always looking for people to join.

The sprint canoe medal gave Canada 22 overall (six gold, five silver, 11 bronze), just two back of its record of 24 for a non-boycotted Games set in Tokyo.

Canada was guaranteed at least one more medal Friday when the Toronto duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson took on Brazilian top seeds Ana Ramos and Duda Lisboa in the women's beach volleyball final.

On the mat, wrestler Hannah Taylor of Summerside, P.E.I., was set to face American Helen Maroulis in a women's 57-kilogram bronze-medal match, while shot-putter Sarah Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., was set to lead Canada's track and field medal hopefuls.

Also Friday, Derek Drouin of Corunna, Ont., was presented a silver medal in high jump from the London 2012 Olympics in a ceremony featuring athletes receiving reallocated medals from previous Games.

In the 500m sprint canoe, the Canadians lost the silver medal to the Ukrainians in a photo finish and posted a time of one minute 54.36 seconds. Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok had a late burst to take silver with 1:54.30.

China's Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun won gold with a time of 1:52.81. The Chinese beat the Olympic record they set in the semifinals after Vincent and MacKenzie set the Olympic mark in the heats.

“Oh, man. That Chinese crew, they've got it all figured out," Vincent said. "They have been pretty perfect for the last three years, haven't had a slip. So I'm honestly just so proud to see our sport at that level.”

In women's golf, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had an impressive third round to give herself an outside shot of a medal. Henderson shot 5-under Friday to give her a combined score of 2-under heading into Saturday's final round.

New Zealand's Lydia Ko and Switzerland's Morgane Metraux led at 9 under, two strokes ahead of Rose Zhang of the United States and Japan's Miyuu Yamashita.

"I mean, I'm still pretty far back, but it was nice to get the jump that I did today and move up as much as I did," said Henderson, who moved 16 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 13th. "I feel like a lot can happen and (there could be) a lot of movement, especially on Sunday afternoon. So I feel like, right to the end, I'll have a shot at it."

In diving, Rylan Wiens of Pike Lake, Sask., was third in preliminaries and qualified for Saturday's semifinal in the men's 10-metre platform. Nathan Zsombor-Murray, of Pointe-Claire, Que., secured 10th place and also advanced.

The two Canadians teamed up to win the bronze medal in the synchro event earlier at the Games.

Drouin was among 10 past Olympians at the Trocadero who received new or upgraded medals in a ceremony. He originally finished third in London but was upgraded after Russia’s Ivan Ukhov was stripped of the gold for a doping violation.

Drouin said he didn't have any negative feelings toward Ukhov, who he said was part of a Russian doping scandal that was "much more widespread than just any one individual athlete."

"I don't harbour any ill will toward him," he said. "I don't think really any individual athlete in this scenario can really be, or should really be, held accountable in the way that maybe other doping scandals have been."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.