Laurence Vincent Lapointe, Katie Vincent advance to canoe semifinals
Both Canadians win respective heats in women's C1 200m
Canadian medal-hopeful Laurence Vincent Lapointe is in to the semifinals in the women's C1 200m, winning her heat race handedly in her Olympic debut on Tuesday.
Vincent Lapointe, a 13-time world champion from Trois-Rivières, Que., got off to a strong start in her heat and never looked back finishing in 45.408 seconds.
WATCH | Vincent Lapointe victorious in heat:
Compatriot Katie Vincent from Mississauga, Ont., also made the semifinal in the event, winning her heat in 46.391 seconds.
The semifinals are set to begin Thursday at 8:44 p.m. ET.
WATCH | Vincent advances to semifinals:
de Jonge, Matveev into quarter-finals
Halifax's Mark de Jonge struggled in his first race of the Tokyo Games.
In the earlier heat, Toronto's Nicholas Matveev finished in fourth place in the five-boat heat, finishing in 36.190 seconds, moving into the quarter-final repechage.
The quarter-finals get underway at 11:08 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile in the women's K1 500m, Michelle Russell of Fall River, N.S., finished her heat race in one minute, 51.081 seconds, good for fourth place and a spot in the quarter-finals.
Russell, who finished fourth in the 'B' final of the K1 200m on Tuesday, said she placed more focus on the 500m event.
In the final heat race of the day, the C2 1,000m team of Brian Malfesi of Maple Ridge, B.C., and Vincent Jourdenais from Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Que., finished in sixth place in three minutes, 22.068 seconds, for a quarter-final berth.
WATCH | For Laurence Vincent Lapointe, family comes first:
