Canoeists Konijn and Vorsselman write history with qualification for the Games

NOS Sports•today, 3:39 PM

Canoeists Selma Konijn and Ruth Vorsselman have surprisingly qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris. That is a special achievement: it is the first time since 1992 that a Dutch duo has qualified for the Games in the 500 meter canoe sprint in the K2 class.

Konijn and Vorsselman took their very last chance by winning the Olympic qualifying tournament (OKT) in Szeged, Hungary. Only the winners of this tournament received a ticket for Paris 2024. The Dutch duo won impressively: they were the only ones to complete the 500 meters under 1.40 minutes (1.39.49).

In the final they competed against former world champion Anastasiia Dolgova, who was not allowed to participate in previous tournaments due to her Russian nationality. The Spanish duo Laia Pelachs/Begona Lazkano also participated, which was even faster than the Dutch in the semi-finals.

For most of the race the Dutch were in second place behind Dolgova and her partner Svetlana Chernogivskaya, but in the last fifty meters Konijn and Vorsselman seized the lead with an impressive final sprint.

Konijn (25) and Vorsselman (27) changed coaches in October: they joined forces with the Pole Zdzisław Szubski. The Dutch duo completed a training camp with him in Portugal with a view to the decisive OKT. That apparently paid off.

Konijn will also be in action on Thursday in the K1 on the 1,000 meters, as will Albart Flier for the men. For them, a first or second place in the final will earn them an Olympic ticket.