The incredible Katie Vincent did the unthinkable at Paris 2024 to win gold in the women’s C-1 200m to add another Olympic medal to her collection after winning bronze with Sloan Mackenzie in the 500m C-2 class. Her win over US star Nevin Harrison in the photo finish was decided by just a one-one hundredth margin (0.01) – which was just enough for her to get the nod.
With a time of 44.12 seconds, Vincent won the race by setting a new world record. Nevin Harrison won the silver medal with a time of 44.13 seconds, and Cuba’s Yarisledia captured the bronze medal in 44.36 seconds.
ANOTHER medal for Katie Vincent 🥇
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 10, 2024
Vincent posted a WORLD BEST time to win gold in the 200m canoe sprint at #Paris2024 #MedalMoments presented by @petrocanada pic.twitter.com/HkMb2TP0ct
“It still doesn’t feel quite real yet, I finished with a bronze medal (Friday in the C2 500m with Sloan MacKenzie). I got back to my hotel room thinking I’ve got two bronze. Maybe it’s time to mix it up and try something new.
“It kind of motivated me to come out and try to find another gear and dig a little deeper.” said Katie Vincent to National Post
The addition of women’s canoeing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 has made Katie Vincent the first Canadian woman in history to win the gold medal at the Olympics, and she has also broken a drought of 20 years by winning Canada’s first medal in canoe since the Athens Olympics in 2004.
The start of the race was once again a big hiccup for Vincent who fumbled in the start again but made a brilliant comeback to shock the world and secure the record.
“For me, as long as I’m in the mix in the first 50 (meters), I have the strength in the last 50,” Vincent said. “That’s where it was always going to be. (We had) two women in the final for the second Games in a row. We’re one of Canada’s most successful Olympic sports. My job is just to get up and paddle lakes and rivers every day. It doesn’t get much better than that.
“If people that just saw what we did, just Google ‘Canoe club near me’ and you’ll find something fun and special to join.” said Katie Vincent to National Post
Carrying Family Legacy at Paris 2024
The love of canoeing runs in Katie Vincent’s veins, having spent many years canoeing with her older brothers and the kids next door at a club in Mississauga, and it all came from those fun trips. Besides being good at canoe, Vincent was also good at skiing and she had to make a tough decision when she went pro in canoe at the age of 14.
Not only did Vincent win gold in Paris 2024, but she also won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in the C-2 500m and a world championship in the C-1 200m in 2021. Vincent won gold in the C-1 200m at the ICF World Cup this past May. Having won gold and bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Katie Vincent has undoubtedly done enough to ignite a new spark in the next set of players to take up canoeing as a sport in the future.
