VAIRES-sur-MARNE, France — Katie Vincent made a statement with a spectacular semifinal effort to beat the defending Olympic champion.
Then, she dethroned her in a world-record time.
The 28-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. beat American star Nevin Harrison in a thrilling photo finish in the women’s C1 200 metres sprint final Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium. It is Vincent’s second medal in two days and third over two Summer Games.
Vincent finished in 44.12 seconds while Harrison clocked in one-hundredth of a second later at 44.13.
The 5-foot-9 standout became the first golden Canadian in an Olympic canoe or kayak event since current member of Parliament Adam van Koeverden won the K1 500m in Athens 2004. She is also the first female to hit the top of the podium in a canoe event; while male paddlers have been competing for Olympic medals since 1936, women’s races were only added to the Olympic schedule for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Harrison, a Seattle native, won the first women’s C1 200m event three years ago at age 18.
Vincent had the best time of both semifinals, clocking in at 45.01 seconds, while Sophia Jensen of Chelsea, Que. finished third in her semi in 45.66 seconds to put two Canadians in the final.
Vincent’s gold comes after she and Sloan MacKenzie captured bronze in the women’s C2 500-metre final Friday.
Vincent, teamed up with Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, also won bronze in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Games. At those Games Vincent-Lapointe took silver in the C1 200 metres
Vincent made the final that year and it’s clear that experience helped her. She finished the job this time.