VICTORIA (June 15, 2021) – Rowing Canada Aviron and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s rowing team nominated to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The 29 athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their performances at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta and a series of internal assessment camps. With 10 Canadian boats at the start line in Tokyo, this will be the largest Olympic rowing team since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, when Canada also sent 10 crews. Led by Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Marnie McBean who with her partner — the late, great Kathleen Heddle — became the first Canadians to win three career Olympic gold medals, Canada brought home six medals from Atlanta 1996.

“With so much uncertainty as to whether these Olympic Games would actually happen, this announcement is so surreal,” said Caileigh Filmer, 2018 world champion in the women’s pair. “I am thrilled to get to represent Team Canada and race my heart out in Tokyo. These Games are so special because it will be the first time since the start of the global pandemic that the world will come together, unified. I hope to inspire Canadians through our courage and bravery, as we celebrate coming together for something bigger than ourselves.” 

Filmer and partner Hillary Janssens rowed to a gold medal performance at the 2018 World Championships in the women’s pair event, followed by a bronze medal performance at the 2019 World Championships in Linz, Austria. Filmer represented Canada at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the women’s eight. 

“It’s truly an amazing feeling to be named to my third Olympic team,” said Olympic silver medallist, Will Crothers. “We are so fortunate to be able to do what we do while representing a country that is so well respected on the international stage. It’s also special to be representing all of the athletes that have come before us, and our organization as there are so many amazing people that get the athletes to the start line. There’s a lot of medal potential on this team, and I can’t wait to watch everybody pour everything they have onto the course in Tokyo!”

Crothers was a member of the men’s eight who won silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He will sit in the stroke seat of the men’s four, a new crew combination who recently qualified the boat for Tokyo at the Final Olympic Qualifier in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The veteran crew on the men’s side will be Conlin McCabe and Kai Langerfeld, who will compete in the men’s pair. McCabe won silver in the eight in his Olympic debut at London 2012. He and Langerfeld were both in the four that made the A final at Rio 2016. 

On the current Olympic program, the eight is the only boat with a coxswain to pace and steer the boat. Canada’s Kristen Kit will cox the women’s eight boat at her first Olympic Games. Kit won a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the PR3 mixed coxed four – the first Paralympic medal ever for Canada in rowing. Kit will be the second Canadian summer athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Consistently a podium contender, Canada has four Olympic medals in the women’s eight, the last being the silver from London 2012. The returning Olympians in the boat are Susanne Grainger, Lisa Roman and Christine Roper, who finished fifth in the eight at Rio 2016.

A total of 41 Olympic medals have been won by Canadian rowers, making rowing Canada’s third-most successful summer Olympic sport. Olympic history will be made at Tokyo 2020 as rowing becomes fully gender-equal, featuring identical events for men and women.

“Rowing Canada Aviron is truly inspired by the team’s unrelenting commitment and tenacity to the goal and dream of representing Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games,” said RCA’s High Performance Director, Iain Brambell. “The postponement of the 2020 Games has been a taxing and trying reality for all athletes and staff within the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Camp. We are immensely proud to name such talented rowers across the 10 crews. On behalf of Rowing Canada Aviron, I would also like to extend an enormous acknowledgement to all the coaches, families, friends and support staff who have contributed in making these journeys to Tokyo a reality.”

Each rowing race covers a distance of 2000m on a six-lane course. Depending on the number of entries, there will be preliminary heats, repechages, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. 

Rowing will take place from July 23 to July 30 (Days 0 to 7) at the Sea Forest Waterway.

“It would come as no surprise to anyone that this is a special nomination announcement to me,” said Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission, Marnie McBean. “This rowing team is strong and I’m so excited to see them race in Tokyo. I’m sure the success at the recent Olympic qualifier, where Canadian rowers secured three of the three quota spots they raced for, is a great harbinger for the rest of the team and shows the quality of the training they have been able to do.”

The athletes and coaches nominated are:

Women’s Coxed Eight 

1. Susanne Grainger (London Rowing Club) 

2. Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski (Club d’Aviron Knowlton) 

3. Kristen Kit (University of British Columbia/St. Catharines Rowing Club) 

4. Madison Mailey (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club) 

5. Sydney Payne (Brentwood College Rowing Club) 

6. Andrea Proske (False Creek Rowing Club) 

7. Lisa Roman (London Rowing Club) 

8. Christine Roper (Ottawa Rowing Club) 

9. Avalon Wasteneys (University of Victoria) 

Women’s Four 

1. Stephanie Grauer (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club) 

2. Nicole Hare (Calgary Rowing Club) 

3. Jennifer Martins (Western University Rowing Club) 

4. Kristina Walker (Kingston Rowing Club/University of British Columbia) 

Men’s Four 

1. Jakub Buczek (St. Catharines Rowing Club) 

2. Will Crothers (Kingston Rowing Club) 

3. Luke Gadsdon (Leander Boat Club/Brock University) 

4. Gavin Stone (Island Lake Rowing Club/Queen’s University) 

Women’s Pair 

1. Caileigh Filmer (University of Victoria) 

2. Hillary Janssens (University of British Columbia) 

Men’s Pair 

1. Kai Langerfeld (University of Victoria) 

2. Conlin McCabe (Brockville Rowing Club) 

Women’s Double Sculls 

1. Jessica Sevick (University of British Columbia/Calgary Rowing Club) 

2. Gabrielle Smith (Club d’Aviron Knowlton) 

Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls 

1. Patrick Keane (Victoria City Rowing Club/University of Victoria) 

2. Maxwell Lattimer (University of British Columbia) 

Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls 

1. Jennifer Casson (Kingston Rowing Club) 

2. Jill Moffatt (Western University) 

Women’s Single Sculls 

1. Carling Zeeman (Sudbury Rowing Club) 

Men’s Single Sculls 

1. Trevor Jones (Peterborough Rowing Club) 

Spares 

1. Joshua King (Ottawa Rowing Club) 

2. Ivy Elling Quaintance (Victoria City Rowing Club) 

3. Trish Mara (Victoria City Rowing Club) 

4. Morgan Rosts (Ridley Graduate Boat Club) 

5. Rebecca Zimmerman (Brockville Rowing Club/University of Victoria) 

Coaches 

1. Dick Tonks (Cambridge, NZ) 

2. Michelle Darvill (London, ON) 

3. Jeremy Ivey (St. John’s, NL) 

4. Phil Marshall (Brockville, ON) 

5. Terry Paul (Peterborough, ON) 

Canadian Umpires 

1. Bill Donegan (Toronto, ON) 

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.

The latest Team Canada Tokyo 2020 roster can be found here and the qualification tracker can be found here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Colleen Coderre, Communications Lead 
Rowing Canada Aviron 
C: 613-530-6217 
E: coderre@rowingcanada.org 

Josh Su, Specialist, Public Relations 
Canadian Olympic Committee 
C: 647-464-4060 
E: jsu@olympic.ca