Not far from home, Canadian canoeist Alex Baldoni impresses in Paris Olympic debut

Few Canadians are more familiar with France than canoe-kayak paddler Alex Baldoni.

Born and raised in nearby Pau, France, the 20-year-old has had childhood friends and family in the stands as he's paddled through the white water at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

They're cheering him on, even if not in the French tricolour he was raised around.

"When I had the chance to choose a country, I chose Canada because it was a part of me I wanted to represent," Baldoni told CBC News. "I've been training in France for the first few years, and that's where I started canoeing. I have some friends who are going to be at the race, and there will be a lot of people cheering for all of us."

Qualifying for Paris through the 2024 Canoe Slalom Americas Olympic Qualifier in March, he comes into his Olympic debut with a chance to add to an already stellar resume, highlighted by a silver medal in men's kayak cross at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.

"I'm just so excited for the race to start, and I see all these legends around me, so that's making me a little nervous because they are all going for a medal as well," he said ahead of competition. "I'm just living the excitement, and it's a cool feeling."

Having trained at the venue previously and being familiar with the space, the Games are nearly a home event for Baldoni and strike even closer to how he got into the sport.

It was Aldric Estanguet, the brother of three-time canoe slalom Olympic champion and Paris 2024 organizing committee chairman Tony Estanguet, who initially invited Baldoni to a kayak camp as a child. Since then, he's never looked back — after overcoming the fear of being upside down in a boat, that is.

During Day 1 of Paris 2024 on Saturday, he made his Olympic debut emphatically by punching his ticket to Sunday's semifinals of the men's canoe slalom with a 13th place finish.

"I'm super happy. Both of my runs were not perfect, but even with mistakes it proved that I can still qualify," he said. "It promises good things for what's coming up in the next few days."

Sunday's semifinals begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, streaming live on CBC Gem and CBC Sports' Paris 2024 website and app.

New event brings excitement

For Baldoni, joined by Lois Betteridge on the women's side, it's a new opportunity and a chance to push Canada into potential medal contention. Baldoni has the Pan Am success, while Betteridge, 26, is confident in the new four-person head-to-head event despite having won slalom gold at the 2023 Pan Am Games.

"I get quite the thrill from kayak cross; it's not everyone's favourite, but I really like it," Betteridge said. We have a strong legacy in Canada; we were historically a very strong team, and now we're a pretty young team. There's a lot of good development energy right now, and we're striving higher."

Kayak cross, similar to its winter counterparts snowboard cross and ski cross, makes its Olympic debut on Aug. 2, with medal rounds on Aug. 5.