Canadian kayaker Adam van Koeverden qualifies for fourth Olympic Games

Canadian kayaker Adam van Koeverden has booked his spot in the upcoming Rio Olympic Games.

The four-time Olympic medallist was down to his last shot to qualify for his fourth – and likely last – Olympics. Competing at the Pan Am continental qualifier on Friday at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga, he’d need to finish first place in the K1 1000-metres event if he wanted to be in Rio in August.

And van Koeverden did just that, crossing the line with a time of three minutes, 30.66 seconds to finish atop the field of nine.

Following the race, he tweeted that he was “beyond stoked” to be heading to another Summer Games. He also made sure to thank his supporters.

“Thank you to everyone who has helped me get here... But please don't go anywhere, I still need you,” he wrote.

The 34-year-old van Koeverden is a two-time world champion and won Olympic gold in the K1 500-m event in Athens in 2004. During the Summer Games four years ago in London, he took home silver in the 1000-m race. But in recent years, the Oakville native hasn’t been so dominant, notably finishing third in the K1 1000-m event at last summer’s Pan Am Games.

In an interview with Postmedia’s Vicki Hall, van Koeverden said he wasn’t feeling himself last summer.

“I was dealing with some health issues that I won’t get into. It wasn’t an injury, but I dealt with a lot last summer,” he told her.

But the kayaker added that his health concerns are behind him and today he’s feeling better than ever. And his win on Friday certainly confirms that. “Right now, this is the best I’ve paddled — and not just according to me but all sources — since my final day in London,” he told Hall.

While many of the national teams have yet to be decided, for now, the kayaker joins Cynthia Meyer, a trap shooter, and sailor Nikola Girke as the only four-time Olympians heading to Rio.

Meanwhile, fellow Canadian paddler Mark Oldershaw is looking to follow in van Koeverden’s footsteps and earn his own Olympic berth. As Hall reported, Oldershaw took a good first step, winning his C1 1000-m race at Lake Lanier qualifying event, but his spot at the Games will come down to his World Cup circuit results.