Watch online: Olympics Canoe, Kayak Sprint live stream for Aug. 17
By Brad Weiss
Here’s everything you need to know about watching the 2016 Rio Olympics Canoe and Kayak Sprint events for Wednesday, August 17.
The 2016 Rio Olympics canoe and kayak sprint events continue Wednesday, with four more competitions slated for preliminary and semifinal action. The men will compete in three different events, with the women’s kayaking rounding out the action later in the day.
The first event of the day will be the Men’s kayak double 1000m, where the medals are looking to be truly up for grabs. In 2012, Hungary’s Rudolf Bombi and Roland Kokeny took home the gold, but they are not in the competition in Rio. In fact, the only medalist from London is Portugal’s Emanual Silva, whole is kayaking with a new partner. In total,12 countries will be vying for a spot in the semifinals, with two being eliminated after the preliminary round.
The top three kayak teams in each semifinal will move on to the final, while the other countries will square off in a consolation final.
For the uninitiated, In kayak doubles events sitting competitors use double-bladed paddles, where the kayak runs up to 6.5m long and weighs at least 18kg.
The second event will be the Men’s canoe single 200m, as 2012 gold medalist Yuriy Cheban of the Ukraine looks to make it two in a row. The field is stacked in this event, with 24 men looking to make it to the final round on Thursday. Only the top eight will make it from the semifinals to the finals, with the rest of the men going to the consolation final.
In single canoe events, competitors rest on one knee, use one single-bladed paddle and the canoe is 5.2m long weighing at least 14kg.
The Men’s kayak double 200m will be the next event on Wednesday, with 13 countries battling it out for a chance to win a medal on Thursday. Great Britain will look to grab a gold or silver medal, after the team of Liam Heath and Jon Schofield took bronze in London. Heath and Schofield are back together in Rio, and are the early favorite to win it all. Keep an eye on the Canadian team of Ryan Cochrane and Hugues Fournel, who should be in the medal mix.
The final event of Wednesday’s action will be the only women’s competition of the day, as they head to the kayaks for the Women’s kayak single 500m. This event has the potential to be the best preliminary and semifinals of Wednesday slate, as New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington aims to win her first 500m title. She won the gold in the 200m in 2012, so she will definitely be hungry for a win in this event.
In order to do so, she will have to navigate through all three medalists from the London Olympics, as Hungary’s Danuta Kozak (gold), Azerbaijani’s Inna Osypenko-Radomska (silver representing Ukraine), and Bridgitte Hartley (bronze) of South Africa.
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Below is all the information needed to tune in to the canoe/kayak sprint action on Wednesday.
Date: Wednesday, August 17
Start Time: 8:00am ET
TV Info: NBC (Not live, Coverage starts at 3:00pm ET)
Live Stream: NBC Olympics
Both the consolation final and medal final in these four events will take place Thursday.