Adam van Koeverden

Adam Joseph van Koeverden MP (born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian sprint kayaker and politician. He is an Olympic gold medallist in the K-1 500m category (2004)[1] and a two-time world champion in K-1 500 (2007) and K-1 1000 (2011), winning four Olympic and eight world championship medals. His home club is the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, Ontario.

In this Dutch name, the family name is Van Koeverden, not Koeverden.

Adam van Koeverden MP
Van Koeverden in 2008
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Milton
Incumbent
Assumed office October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Lisa Raitt
Personal details
Born	Adam Joseph van Koeverden (1982-01-29) January 29, 1982 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Milton, Ontario
Alma mater	McMaster University (BSc)
Sports career
Personal information
Nationality	Canadian
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Sport	Kayaking
Event(s)	K-1 1000m, K-1 500m
Club	Burloak Canoe Club
Medal record Men's canoeing Representing Canada Olympic Games 2004 Athens K-1 500 m 2008 Beijing K-1 500 m 2012 London K-1 1000 m 2004 Athens K-1 1000 m World Championships 2007 Duisburg K-1 500 m 2011 Szeged K-1 1000 m 2003 Gainesville K-1 1000 m 2005 Zagreb K-1 1000 m 2007 Duisburg K-1 1000 m 2005 Zagreb K-1 500 m 2009 Dartmouth K-1 1000 m 2010 Poznań K-1 500 m Pan American Games 2015 Toronto K-1 1000 m

In the 2019 Canadian federal election, Van Koeverden was elected to the Canadian House of Commons, representing the electoral district of Milton as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada caucus.

Early life and education

He was born in Toronto to a Dutch father, Joe van Koeverden, and a Hungarian mother, Beata Bokrossy.[2][3] Van Koeverden attended St. John Catholic Elementary School in Oakville, Ontario, graduating in 1996. He then proceeded to go to St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School also located in Oakville. He plays guitar.

Van Koeverden is a graduate of McMaster University's Bachelor of Science Kinesiology program in Hamilton, Ontario. He graduated in June 2007 as valedictorian of his class.[4]

Career

Canoe sprinting

He won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m at the 1999 world junior championships in Zagreb, Croatia, and then became world junior marathon champion in 2000. His first success as a senior came with a silver medal at the 2003 world championships in Gainesville, Georgia, in the men's K-1 1000 m event. At the 2004 Summer Olympics Van Koeverden won two medals, including a gold in the K-1 500 m and a bronze in the K-1 1000 m. He was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremonies and was later awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete of 2004.

In 2005, Van Koeverden won two medals at the 2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Zagreb: a silver in the K-1 1000 m and a bronze in the K-1 500 m. At the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, Van Koeverden finished fourth in both the K-1 500 m and 1000 m finals. At the 2006 Canadian Sprint Canoe Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan, he won five gold medals (K-1 1000 m, K-2 1000 m, K-4 1000 m, K-4 200 m, and War Canoe), and two silver medals (K-1 200 m and K-2 200 m).

Van Koeverden had great success on the World Cup circuit in 2007, going undefeated over both 500 m and 1000 m in three competitions.[5] At the 2007 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Van Koeverden won the gold medal in the K-1 500 m and the silver medal in the K-1 1000 m.

Van Koeverden beat his own world record in the K-1 500 m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a time of 1:35.554.[6] He finished 8th place in the 1000m race, and finished with a silver medal in the K-1 500 m race. Originally, he had been listed as bronze medalist, until the scoreboard was corrected to indicate he had finished second. Van Koeverden had led most of the way from the start, but was overtaken by the Australian winner Ken Wallace at the finish line, with British bronze medallist Tim Brabants ending in a photo finish with him.

In the leadup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Van Koeverden was named flag bearer for the Canadian Olympic team at the opening ceremony, making him one of the few athletes to carry Canada's flag twice at the Olympics.[7] To celebrate the success of the hometown hero, on October 17, 2008, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and local councillors hosted a meet and greet session. A ceremonial street name unveiling to honor Van Koeverden preceded the event. Adam van Koeverden Street, which is currently known as Water Street, is located near his Oakville harbour home club, the Burloak Canoe Club.[8]

At the 2009 world championships in Dartmouth, he won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m event. The following year, he won another bronze, only this time it was in the K-1 500 m event. Continuing to build on these achievements at the world's, Van Koeverden went to the 2011 world championships competing in the K-1 1000 m, where he finally won gold.[9]

At the 2012 London Olympics he won the silver medal in the same event, while Norwegian Eirik Verås Larsen won gold.[10]

Politics

On October 4, 2018, Van Koeverden announced he would be seeking the nomination of the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Milton to be a candidate in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[11][12] Van Koeverden won the Liberal nomination on January 20, 2019 and won the Liberal seat in Milton on October 21, 2019,[13] defeating the incumbent, Conservative Party deputy leader Lisa Raitt, taking over 51% of the vote to Raitt's 36%.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Milton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Adam van Koeverden	30,882	51.70	+11.26
	Conservative	Lisa Raitt	21,564	36.10	-9.28
	New Democratic	Farina Hassan	3,851	6.50	-4.38
	Green	Eleanor Hayward	2,769	4.60	+2.31
	People's	Percy Dastur	613	1.00	-
Total valid votes/Expense limit			59,679	100.0
Total rejected ballots			379
Turnout			60,058	70.81
Eligible voters			84,806
Source: Elections Canada[14]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Adam van Koeverden". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
2. https://www.insidehalton.com/community-story/2884574-a-mother-s-love-not-lost-on-olympic-champion-kayaker/
3. "Van Koeverden living the Canadian Dream". National Post. July 8, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
4. Bubak, Susan (June 4, 2007). "Olympic athlete to give valedictory address". McMaster Daily News. McMaster University. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
5. "Van Koeverden extends kayak streak". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 2, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
6. "Van Koeverden advances to semis in record time". Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
7. "Van Koeverden named Canada's flag-bearer". CBC Olympics. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. July 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
8. Kuiperij, Jon (October 22, 2008). "Olympian at Home on Water Street". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
9. "Van Koeverden strikes gold at kayak worlds". CBC Sports. August 19, 2011. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
10. "Adam van Koeverden wins silver medal in kayaking". Retrieved August 8, 2012.
11. Oct 4, The Canadian Press · Posted; October 4, 2018 9:27 AM ET | Last Updated. "Olympic kayaker Adam van Koeverden enters politics looking to unseat Lisa Raitt in 2019 federal election | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
12. https://twitter.com/vankayak/status/1047811276670418944
13. Stober, Eric (January 20, 2019). "Former Olympic kayaker Adam van Koeverden wins federal Liberal nomination in Milton". Global News. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
14. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.

External links

• Adam van Koeverden on Real Champions
• Canoe09.ca profile
• CanoeKayak Canada profile
• "ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936–2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
• "ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936–2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
• Official website of Adam van Koeverden
• Adam van Koeverden at Olympedia
• Adam van Koeverden at the Canadian Olympic Committee
• Adam van Koeverden at the International Olympic Committee
• Adam van Koeverden at the Olympic Channel

Sporting positions
Preceded by Knut Holmann	Olympic  Gold Men's K-1 500m sprint Kayaking 2004	Succeeded by Ken Wallace
Preceded by Tim Brabants	Olympic  Bronze Men's K-1 1000m sprint Kayaking 2004	Succeeded by Ken Wallace
Preceded by Nathan Baggaley	Olympic  Silver Men's K-1 500m sprint Kayaking 2008	Succeeded by Event discontinued
Records
Preceded by	K-1 500m Men World Record 1:36.2	Succeeded by Adam van Koeverden
Preceded by Adam van Koeverden	K-1 500m Men World Record 1:35.630	Succeeded by Adam van Koeverden
Preceded by Adam van Koeverden	K-1 500m Men World Record 1:35.554	Succeeded by current