Adam van Koeverden

Adam van Koeverden

Adam paddling in a kayak
Personal information
Full name	Adam Joseph van Koeverden
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1982-01-29) January 29, 1982 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Sport
Sport	Kayaking
Event(s)	K-1 1000m, K-1 500m
Club	Burloak Canoe Club
Medal record Men's canoeing Representing Canada Olympic Games 2004 Athens K-1 500 m 2008 Beijing K-1 500 m 2012 London K-1 1000 m 2004 Athens K-1 1000 m World Championships 2007 Duisburg K-1 500 m 2011 Szeged K-1 1000 m 2003 Gainesville K-1 1000 m 2005 Zagreb K-1 1000 m 2007 Duisburg K-1 1000 m 2005 Zagreb K-1 500 m 2009 Dartmouth K-1 1000 m 2010 Poznań K-1 500 m Pan American Games 2015 Toronto K-1 1000 m

Adam Joseph van Koeverden (born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian sprint kayaker. He was born in Toronto, Ontario to a Dutch father and a Hungarian mother. His home club is the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. A three-time world champion, twice in the K-1 500 m and once in the K-1 1000, and eight time medalist.

Sporting career

He won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m at the 1999 world junior championships in Zagreb, Croatia, and then became world junior marathon champion in 2000. His first success as a senior came with a silver medal at the 2003 world championships in Gainesville, Georgia in the men's K-1 1000 m event. At the 2004 Summer Olympics van Koeverden won two medals, including a gold in the K-1 500 m and a bronze in the K-1 1000 m. He was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremonies and was later awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete of 2004.

In 2005, van Koeverden won two medals at the 2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia: a silver in the K-1 1000 m and a bronze in the K-1 500 m. At the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, van Koeverden finished fourth in both the K-1 500 m and 1000 m finals. At the 2006 Canadian Sprint Canoe Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan, he won five gold medals (K-1 1000 m, K-2 1000 m, K-4 1000 m, K-4 200 m, and War Canoe), and two silver medals (K-1 200 m and K-2 200 m).

Van Koeverden had great success on the World Cup circuit in 2007, going undefeated over both 500 m and 1000 m in three competitions. At the 2007 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, van Koeverden won the gold medal in the K-1 500 m and the silver medal in the K-1 1000 m.

Van Koeverden beat his own world record in the K-1 500 m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a time of 1:35.554. He finished 8th place in the 1000m race, and finished with a silver medal in the K-1 500 m race. Originally, he had been listed as bronze medalist, until the scoreboard was corrected to indicate he had finished second. van Koeverden had led most of the way from the start, but was overtaken by the Australian winner Ken Wallace at the finish line, with British bronze medallist Tim Brabants ending in a photo finish with him.

In the leadup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, van Koeverden was named flag bearer for the Canadian Olympic team at the opening ceremony.

At the 2009 world championships in Dartmouth, he won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m event. The following year, he won another bronze, only this time it was in the K-1 500 m event. Continuing to build on these achievements at the world's, van Koeverden went to the 2011 world championships competing in the K-1 1000 m, where he finally won gold.

At the 2012 London Olympics he won the silver medal in the same event, while Norway's Eirik Verås Larsen won gold.

Adam van Koeverden Street

To celebrate the success of the hometown hero, on October 17, 2008, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and local councillors hosted a meet and greet session. A ceremonial street name unveiling to honor van Koeverden preceded the event. Adam van Koeverden Street, which is currently known as Water Street, is located near his Oakville harbour home club, the Burloak Canoe Club.

Education

Van Koeverden attended St. John Catholic Elementary School in Oakville, Ontario then graduated in 1996. He then proceeded to go to St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School also located in Oakville. He plays guitar.

Van Koeverden is a graduate of McMaster University. He graduated in June 2007 as valedictorian of his class.

See also

• Caroline Brunet
• Mark Oldershaw
• Larry Cain
• Brady Reardon
• Chris Pellini
• Scott Oldershaw

External links

• Adam van Koeverden on Real Champions
• Canoe09.ca profile
• CanoeKayak Canada profile
• ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships - Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936-2007.
• ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships - Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936-2007.
• Official website of Adam van Koeverden
• Sports-reference.com profile