On Thursday, Canada’s contingent saw two medal hopefuls in paddling, Sophia Jensen and Katie Vincent, advance to the semi-finals of Paris 2024 after finishing their races in 46.8 seconds and 47.22 seconds, respectively, in the women’s C-1 200m.
As the first Canadian peddler to take the water, Jensen made a bright start, taking the lead in her heat within the first 50 meters before being pushed back narrowly by Spain’s Antiq Jacome. Despite the competition, Jensen held off the late push and won the heat to advance to the semis, where she will be hoping to earn a medal for Canada.
After showing early promise in her first-ever Olympics, Jensen’s rise to the top has been nothing short of sensational. After winning bronze in the C-1 200 m event at the Pan American Games in Santiago in 2023, a rising star in Canadian paddling has given the nation some hope for the gold in the Paris 2024 Olympics. 
Jensen also talked about being in medal contention for the event to Olympic Canada, “ I don’t think about it like that, I just want to execute the best race I possibly can, and if the results come that’d be cool. ”
Vincent is on the hunt in both the 200 m and 500 m Semis
Katie Vincent is vying for gold in both the C-1 200 m and C-2 500 m race after progressing to the semis, where she will compete alongside her partner Sloan Mackenzie for a place in the final on Friday. The duo had already created history in Paris in 2024 after setting a new record of 1:54:16 in their opening heat of the canoe 500 m.
Vincent, who has already won the bronze in the 500-metre event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will be hoping for a repeat here. There were doubts about her participation before the Paris 2024 Olympics due to several difficult months.
Vincent said, “ I think we were in a really tough place as a team; just off of the water, we had a lot of stuff going on. So, coming into this Olympics, we had much more positive vibes and energy. ”
Fresh from their victories at the ICF World Cup of 2024, where these two solo canoeists, Vincent won the gold, and Jensen won the silver for the Canada team. It will be interesting to see whether history repeats as they take on their respective events in the semis at Paris 2024.
Vincent’s C-1 200m semifinals begin on Saturday at 11:40 a.m. local time with the first heat race.
Click HERE for the Complete Medal Tally of the Paris 2024
