OLYMPIC GOLD: Canada earns most-ever medals after canoeist from Mississauga shines

In winning a gold medal on Saturday at the Paris Olympics, Mississauga’s Katie Vincent did so in record-setting and dramatic fashion.

First, the drama.

The 28-year-old Canadian athlete trailed the early leader for most of the women’s 200-metre sprint canoe final before catching up at the end in a photo finish.

After studying the footage for a few moments, race officials declared Vincent the gold medalist in a world-record time of 44.12 seconds. She caught up to and narrowly defeated American Nevin Harrison, who won silver in a time of 44:13 seconds. Yarisleidis Cirilo, of Cuba, earned the bronze medal.

It was Vincent’s second medal in Paris. Earlier, she teamed with Sloan MacKenzie, of Dartmouth, N.S., to win bronze in the women’s C-2 500-metre race. Vincent was also part of the C-2 500m team, with a different partner, that captured bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Now, the records.

In addition to the new world mark noted above, Vincent’s medal was Canada’s eighth gold and 25th overall at the Paris Games. Both of those totals represented Canada’s best showing at a non-boycotted Olympics — until the mark was topped later on Saturday.

Toronto’s Phil Wizard (aka Philip Kim) won gold in the first-ever breaking (breakdancing) competition at the Olympics while Edmonton’s Marco Arop captured a silver medal in the men’s 800m race, setting a North American record in the process.

Katie Vincent on the water after her photo-finish win. (Photo: Canoe Kayak Canada X)

Those medals improved Canada’s showing in Paris to nine gold, seven silver and 11 bronze for a new high mark of 27 medals. The Canadians finished 12th overall in the medal standings, just behind New Zealand and its 10 gold medals (20 medals overall).

“It was just one of the most incredible C-1 finals that has probably ever happened for our sport,” said Vincent, born in Mississauga and a member of the Mississauga Canoe Club since 2006. “I’ve been around this sport for a long time, and I’ve been in the world championships finals and different events for the last 10 years at this level.

“And you know, 44.1 (seconds) was a dream seven or eight years ago. We were winning (with) times of 46, and then it got down to 45, and then slowly it got lower and lower. We’re approaching a 43.3 area, with the right day, and it’s just a credit to how hard all these girls are working all over the world.”

Vincent also became Canada’s third multi-medalist of the 2024 Games, joining swimmers Summer McIntosh (three gold, one silver), 17, of Toronto, and Ilya Kharun (two bronze), 19, of Montreal.

Also, it was just less than one year ago that the Mississaugan won three gold medals at the 2023 International Canoe Federation’s Canoe Sprint World Championships in Germany.

Canada’s biggest-ever medal grab was 10 gold and 44 total medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. However, an Eastern Bloc boycott led by the then-Soviet Union thinned out the competition.

— With files from The Canadian Press