Canadian female paddlers set sights on podium as canoe-kayak sprint races on tap

Three years ago in Tokyo, Canadian paddlers Laurence Vincent Lapointe and Katie Vincent stormed back from fifth place in the final 250 metres of the C-2 500m canoe sprint, pushing their way to an Olympic bronze medal.

It was the first time the Olympics featured women's canoe sprint events after years of fighting for women to have the opportunity, and the Canadian women made their mark. Vincent Lapointe also took home a silver medal in an individual race, the C-1 200m.

Now, Mississauga, Ont.'s Vincent is back for her second Olympics and looking to upgrade that bronze medal as part of a 13-athlete Canadian canoe-kayak team in Paris.

"From everything I've seen of her, in my career and racing against her and also with her, she's a very strong athlete throughout the race and never gives up even at the end of the race," said the now-retired Vincent Lapointe.

Watching her former partner in the water, Vincent Lapointe can see her strong will, but also her elegance in paddling. 

"It almost looks like she's effortless, but she's really, really good at that specific type of paddling, which makes her really fast and just a very good athlete," said Vincent Lapointe, who is an analyst with Radio-Canada.

Canoe-kayak sprint coverage begins on Tuesday morning. Live Olympic coverage will be on CBC TV, CBC Gem, the CBC Olympics app and CBC Olympics website. 

After Vincent Lapointe retired, Vincent teamed up with Windsor Junction, N.S.'s Sloan MacKenzie. The pair captured gold together at the Pan American Games last year in the C-2 500m.

"After the Tokyo Olympics, I had no idea what the road to Paris was going to look like," 28-year-old Vincent said in a press release after the Olympic canoe-kayak team was named.

"There were many unknowns.