Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe has won a historic silver medal in the women’s C1 200m sprint race at the Tokyo Olympics.
Posted Aug 05, 2021, 06:02AM EDT
Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe has won a historic silver medal in the women’s C1 200m sprint race at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 29-year-old paddler from Trois-Rivieres, Que., finished the sprint in a time of 46.786 seconds, behind American Nevin Harrison.
Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan claimed bronze.
Katie Vincent of Mississauga, Ont., finished 8th with a time of 47.834.
This marked the first time medals were awarded in this event at the Olympic Games.
A dominant canoeing force for more than a decade, Vincent-Lapointe had to wait for the sport’s international federation and the International Olympic Committee to make room for women to race at the Olympics.
That finally happened in Japan, but Vincent-Lapointe also had to fight to clear her name following an “adverse analytical finding” during an out-of-competition drug test two years ago.
The result gives Canada 16 medals, including four gold, five silver, and seven bronze.
Female athletes have accounted for 14 of Canada’s medal total at these Games.
