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www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 B R O K E R A G ER E A L T Y C O R P . INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010 25 World champ Nicholson has Olympic aspirations By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Its been 17 hours since Mallorie Nicholson climbed out of bed. She boarded a bus before the sun rose, made her way through airport security with oversized equipment, flown across the ocean and arrived home only to dis- cover her luggage is lost. And yet with one mention of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the excitement returns to her voice. It was such a cool experience, she said during a stopover in Montreal. We were in a beautiful hotel right on the 750 (metre) mark. It was the perfect vacation for a paddler even just getting to watch the races and see all these great paddlers from all over the world. Nicholson was not on vacation, though. And she was not simply watching. She teamed up with Laurence Vincent- Lapointe Sunday in Poznan, Poland to win the womens C-2 (canoe doubles) 500-metre gold medal, blowing away the competition by more than 14 seconds. When its suggested the victory puts her among the great paddlers she referred to, Nicholson scoffs at the notion. I wouldnt quite put myself in there yet. N i c h o l s o n has amassed an impressive com- petitive resume. Shes won 18 gold medals at the Canadian championships over the last three years and now has capi- talized on her first chance to add to her col- lection in international competition. And theres only one thing that could pre- vent her from adding even more medals at this weeks national championships in Regina shes currently searching the Montreal airport for her paddles. Those same paddles propelled Nicholson and Vincent-Lapointe down the 500-metre course in two minutes, 3.622 seconds. Its the best time weve ever done, Nicholson said. Its probably the fastest Ive ever gone in a canoe. The duo came together earlier this year at a training camp in Florida prior to Canadian team trials. It wasnt an easy adjust- ment for Nicholson, who had concentrat- ed on the C-1 to that point, with the difference in size between the new team- mates creating the biggest challenge. Laurence is almost six-foot and she has a super-long reach, said the five-foot-four Nicholson. I had to slow down and stretch out each stroke. At team trials they beat out Jenna Marks and Maria Halavrezos, who won gold when the event made its debut at last years worlds, for Canadas spot at the worlds. Though their training opportunities have been limited since the early-season training camp, they have continued to improve each time they compete. Now with national and world medals under her belt, Nicholson can start to think about the possibility of winning an Olympic medal as well. Though womens canoe isnt currently an Olympic event, its time may be coming. Right now, they are aiming for 2016, Nicholson said. The Olympic committee has new standards for gender parity so I think (adding womens canoe) by 2016 is the intention. Nicholson said the main hurdle is ensur- ing more countries are competitive but said the inclusion of womens canoe in the world championships is a step in the right direction. For now, she can savour her world cham- pionship gold medal. Its in the one bag that didnt get lost, she said. It was such a cool experience...even just getting to watch the races and see all these great paddlers from all over the world. Mallorie Nicholson Burloak paddler hopes womens canoe will join Olympic roster in 2016 Van Koeverden wins bronze,page 26