Selma Konijn and Ruth Vorsselman won a starting ticket for the Olympic Games in Paris on Wednesday afternoon. The two canoeists are thus writing history: for the first time since 1992, a Dutch duo has qualified for the Games in the 500 meter canoe sprint in the K2 class.
The very last ticket for the Games was sold at the Olympic qualifying tournament (OKT) in Szeged, Hungary. Only the winners could count on a starting ticket. Konijn (25) and Vorsselman (27) seized that opportunity. The pair put in a strong performance and were the only ones to stay under 1.40 (1.39.49).
Rabbit and Vorsselman write history
The duo defeated, among others, former world champion Anastasiia Dolgova in the final. Due to her Russian nationality, she was previously not allowed to participate in other tournaments. In the semi-finals, the Spanish team Laia Pelachs/Begona Lazkano was even faster than Konijn and Vorsselman, but they also did not keep up with the winners in the final battle.
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For Konijn and Vorsselman, qualifying for the Games is the first major success with their new trainer: the Pole Zdzisław Szubski. In preparation for the OKT, the duo recently went to Portugal for a training camp with the new coach. That trip clearly produced the desired results.
Rabbit will be back in action on Thursday. Then she can qualify for the 1000 meters in the K1 class, the same applies to Albart Flier for the men.
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