Team USA to Paddle in Poland at Sprint Worlds

17 Athletes, Including Five Para-Canoe, Aim for the Podium

Seventeen U.S. paddlers head to Poznan, Poland for the 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Aug. 19-22. Headlining the group is two-time Olympian Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.).

U.S. Para-Canoe will be making its second appearance at a World Championships. Robert Brown (Moncks Corner, S.C.), Vadim Kin, Ashley Thomas, Gregory Crouse and Tami Hetke (Boulder Creek, Calif.) make up the five-member team. They will be coached by Deborah Page and Janet Whitaker.

Joining Johnson among the women’s Kayak’s are Krisztina Zur, Ariel Farrar-Wellman, Maggie Hogan (San Diego, Calif.) and 21-year-old Emily Vinson (Gainesville, Ga.). World Cup veterans Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.), Morgan House (Gainesville, Ga.) and Ryan and Patrick Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) comprise the men’s Kayakers. Guy Wilding and Stein Jorgensen will coach the Kayakers. Under 23 National Team Coach Shaun Caven will make the trip as U.S. Team Leader in Poznan.

"This year’s World Championships is an important bench mark for all athletes before Olympic Qualification starts in 2011,” Caven said. “This Championship will determine the direction of most athletes towards London.  It is therefore a highly significant regatta.”

These World Championships also mark the first time that women’s canoe events will be contested as a full medal sport on the competition program. Competing in the women's canoe discipline are Anna Crawford, Pam Boteler, and Itzel Reza Flores.

For more information, please visit http://kayak2010.com/.

The athletes must return soon after competing to jump into domestic waters for the USA Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., Aug. 26-29. The event marks the beginning of the long journey towards qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Some of the senior races will qualify athletes for the 2010 Pan American Championships, which is a qualifier for the 2011 Pan American Games, a second chance qualifier for London 2012.

“It’s the number one sprint event in the country for the club and it allows the junior athletes to see the top seniors and the top seniors to then prepare themselves for the PanAm Championships,” Caven said.

USA Canoe/Kayak is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation. It governs the Olympic disciplines of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom and sanctions Freestyle, Marathon, Outrigger, Wildwater, Kayak Polo, Dragon Boat and Canoe Sailing in the United States. For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at www.usack.org.