Canoe Sprint Team Announced for Second Round Olympic Qualification and World Cup Series

Following two days of exciting racing at the Olympic Selection Trials in Nottingham this week, British Canoeing is pleased to announce its senior Canoe Sprint team to compete at the European Continental Olympic Qualifying event next month, along with those selected for the ICF World Cup series.

Ed Mc Keever Olympic Trials — Ed McKeever prepares for Duisburg

Seven men and two women will take to the start line in Duisburg on the 18 and 19 May, with the aim of claiming as many of the remaining Olympic quota places for Rio 2016 as possible. With this being the final opportunity for European nations to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games, the competition is bound to be extremely tough.

Olympic Champion Ed McKeever will be focused on a top two finish in the men’s K1 200m event in order to keep his hopes alive of defending his title in Rio. Also chasing the one remaining men’s kayak place will be Jonathan Boyton in the K1 1000m, whilst Chris Calvert (C1 200m), James Styan and Jonathan Jones (C2 1000m) have all been given the opportunity by the selectors to contest the one remaining spot in the canoe class.

Jon Boyton Olympic Trials — Jon Boyton will contest K1 1000m in Duisburg

For the women, Angela Hannah will contest both the individual 200m event (K1 200m) and team up with Lani Belcher in the K2 200m. Hannah and Belcher will undoubtedly be the most focused women on the start line, having originally thought they had qualified the boat at last year’s World Championships on reallocated quota places, only to find that this wasn’t the case. Only an outright win will be enough to put them on the plane to Rio, whilst a top two finish for Hannah in the K1 would still keep her in the mix.

Angela Lani Olympic Trial — Angela Hannah and Lani Belcher focused on winning in Duisburg

The World Cup team will be headlined by Liam Heath and Jon Schofield, who will be looking for a repeat of their excellent form at the British Olympic trials and now armed with the confidence that their names have already been written onto the nomination sheet for Rio. A good performance at their first international regatta of the season would give them a further boost and show that they are well on track for their second Olympic Games.

Jon Liam Olympic Trials — Liam Heath and Jon Schofield ready for World Cup action

The women’s K4 500m of Rachel Cawthorn, Jessica Walker, Louisa Gurski, and Rebeka Simon, who qualified the boat for Rio at last year’s World Championships in Milan, will also get their inaugural run out of the season and the first of two chances to show their form and fitness under racing conditions, ahead of final crew confirmation for the Olympic Games.

The team for World Cup 1 also includes a number of new faces to the British team and a chance to make their senior international debuts, including three women from the Girls4Gold programme, the joint UK Sport, British Canoeing talent initiative.

Congratulations to all the athletes selected!

FULL TEAM LIST

2nd Round Olympic Qualification Duisburg, 18 & 19 May

K1 200m Edward McKeever (Bradford on Avon)

K1 1000m Jonathan Boyton (Royal)

K2 1000m Matthew Bowley (Royal) / Edward Rutherford (Elmbridge)

C1 200m Christopher Calvert (Fladbury)

C2 1000m James Styan (Fladbury) / Jonathan Jones (Fladbury)

K1 200m Angela Hannah (Banbury)

K2 500m Lani Belcher (Elmbridge) / Angela Hannah (Banbury)

Duisburg World Cup 1, 20-22 May

K1 200m Liam Heath (Wey)