Van Couverden, Adam

Adam van Couverden started kayaking in his native Oakville's club when he was 13 years old ^[1] . He has been participating in top-level international competitions since 2001 . In the year of his debut, he competed in both single and team disciplines, having been among the winners in the four-piece kayak competition at the World Cup in Copenhagen . Since 2002, van Couverden has been a lone kayaker. In 2003, he was three times among the winners of the World Cup stages in long and medium water, and in September in Gainesville at a distance of 1000 meters he won his first world championship medal.

In 2004 , at the age of 22, van Kuverden won three major international competitions - first at the World Cup in Racice (Czech Republic) at 1000 meters, and then on the Hazewinkel Canal ( Willebrook , Belgium) at both Olympic distances. At the Olympic Games in Athens, Van Couverden exceeded all expectations by winning the “gold” at a distance of 500 meters and taking third place at a thousand-meter distance. He was entrusted with the right to bear the banner of Canada at the closing ceremony of the Olympics, and at the end of the year he was recognized as the best athlete in Canada ^[2] .

In 2005, Van Couverden won the Pan American Canoe Rowing Championships in both Olympic disciplines and brought two medals - silver and bronze - from the World Championships in Zagreb . The next year, he had no equal in short water at the three stages of the World Cup in Poznan , Duisburg and Guangzhou , although this time he was left without an award at the World Cup. In 2007, he was finally able to add to the Olympic “gold” of Athens a medal of a similar value from the World Cup won in Duisburg. At the World Cup, he was again out of competition, and this time not only at 500, but also at 1000 meters. He combined his participation in competitions with his studies at McMaster University , where he graduated in 2007 with honors, receiving a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology ^[1] .

2008 brought Van Kuverden another victory at the World Cup stages: he again won three stages at a distance of 500 meters and two of three at twice as much. At the Beijing Olympics, he was regarded as one of the main candidates for victory and was the standard bearer of the national team at the opening ceremony, but he remained only eighth at a thousand meters, and at 500 meters, breaking a personal record in preliminary races ^[1] , lost to Ken Wallace from the final Australia These results marked the beginning of the recession in the form of van Couverden: in the following years, he only twice became one of the winners at the World Championships (both times with a bronze medal) and no longer shows such even results at the World Cup stages, gradually reducing participation in international competitions. Nevertheless, at the 2011 World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, he received a ticket to the 2012 Olympic Games , winning the second gold medal of the World Championships for his career, this time on a lone kayak at a distance of 1000 meters. At the Olympics itself, he showed the best time in the qualifying races and semi-finals, in the final he lost the “gold” in the personal fight to the Norwegian Larsen , enjoying the second place.

In the Canadian parliamentary elections in 2019, he was nominated by the Liberal Party.

• Personal site (English)
• Profile on the Canadian Kayaking and Canoeing Association website