Adam van Koeverden

Adam Joseph van Koeverden (born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian sprint kayaker. He was born in Oakville, Ontario to a Dutch father and a Hungarian mother.^[1] His home club is the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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 lead 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 ceremonies.^[4]

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.

Adam van Koeverden Street

To celebrate the success of the hometown hero, on October 17, 2008, Mayor Rob Burton and local councilors hosted a meet and greet session to celebrate the success of Van Koeverden. A ceremonial street name unveiling to honor Van Koeverden also preceded the event. Adam van Koeverden Street, which is currently known as Water Street, is located near his Oakville harbor home club, the Burloak Canoe Club.^[5]

Education

Van Koeverden attended St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School located in Oakville, Ontario. He plays guitar.

Van Koeverden is a graduate of McMaster University. He graduated in June 2007 as valedictorian of his class.^[6]

See also

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

Notes and references

• 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