Mark Oldershaw nominated for Olympic selection ahead of World Cup regatta

Heading into the weekend it appeared Mark Oldershaw and Ben Tardioli would have one more World Cup event to make their cases for Rio.

But Friday afternoon, a day before the regatta is set to begin, Canoe Kayak Canada nominated Oldershaw over Tardioli for the final spot on the men's Olympic team.

According to a release from Canoe Kayak Canada, the nomination was made after reviewing results from the Pan American Continental Olympic Qualifier in Gainesville, Ga., last month. According to Ian Miller, the organization's communications and marketing officer, Canoe Kayak Canada bases its selection on "a complicated system of internal event prioritization," including the national team trials and continental qualifiers that took place in May.

Oldershaw and Tardioli, along with 17 other members of Canada's canoe-kayak contingent, will still compete at the final International Canoe Federation (ICF) sprint event Saturday and Sunday in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal.

Oldershaw finished 10th in the men's C1 1000-metre final and Tardioli finished fifth in the C1 200 at last weekend's event in Racice, Czech Republic. The duo, along with Pierre-Luc Laliberté and Roland Varga, paddled to a second-place finish in the C4 200.

Finishing strong

Canada will look to build on their five-medal performance last weekend, but will be without two of their budding stars.

Katie Vincent, who has enjoyed a successful run on the World Cup circuit, will not be competing in Portugal. Vincent earned three medals, including two gold, during the events in Racice and Duisburg.

Nadya Crossman-Serb, Vincent's teammate when they won gold in the C2 500, will not compete this weekend either.

Alex Scott, another promising paddler, earned bronze in Racice as part of Canada's K4 200 team. He and Vincent are spearheading the youth movement in Canada's canoe-kayak squad.

The following 19 Canadians will compete this weekend at the final ICF World Cup event:

• Mark de Jonge, men's kayak (Halifax)
• Émilie Fournel, women's kayak (Lachine, Que.)
• Alex Scott, men's kayak (Bedford, N.S.)
• Pierre-Luc Laliberté, men's canoe (Otterburn Park, Que.)
• Adam van Koeverden, men's kayak (Oakville, Ont.) 
• Marshall Hughes, men's kayak (Waverley, N.S.)
• Pierre-Luc Poulin, men's kayak (Lac Beauport, Que.)
• Ryan Cochrane, men's kayak (Windsor, N.S.)
• Étienne Morneau, men's kayak (Québec City)
• Andréanne Langlois, women's kayak (Québec City)
• Mark Oldershaw, men's canoe (Burlington, Ont.)
• Ben Tardioli, men's canoe (Ottawa)
• Paul Bryant, men's canoe (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
• Roland Varga, men's canoe (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
• Angus Mortimer, men's kayak (Ottawa)
• Andrew Jessop, men's kayak (Halifax)
• Rob Clarke, men's kayak (Mississauga, Ont.) 
• Michelle Russell, women's kayak (Fall River, N.S.)
• Madeline Schmidt, women's kayak (Ottawa)

Slalom season begins in Italy

With the sprint circuit wrapping up in Portugal, the focus shifts to the slalom World Cup in Ivrea, Italy.

Ottawa's Michael Tayler, who dominated the K1 events at the national team trials on May 23 in Pemberton, B.C., will not be making the trip to northern Italy. According to Canoe Kayak Canada, Tayler will compete at the second event in Spain and third in France. The Olympic team will be selected after the third event on June 19.

Canada will be sending the following four athletes to northern Italy:

• Ben Hayward, men's K1 (Edmonton, Alta.)
• Jessica Groeneveld, women's K1 (Innisfail, Alta.)
• Cameron Smedley, men's C1 (Dunrobin, Ont.)
• Haley Daniels, women's C1 (Calgary, Alta.)

Currently, Canada only owns Olympic quota spots in the men's K1 and C1 events; Hayward and Aurora, Ont. paddler John Hastings are competing with Tayler for the K1 berth, whereas Smedley and Ottawa's Spencer Pomeroy are vying for selection in C1.

Streaming info

The final ICF sprint World Cup event in Montemor will be streamed live exclusively by CBC Sports — online, on our app and on Road to the Olympic Games, which also airs on CBC Television.

Fans can watch the sprint event at the following times:

• Saturday June 4:
  • 6 - 8:30 a.m. ET
• Sunday June 5:
  • 5 - 7:30 a.m. ET

The slalom event in Ivrea will be streamed on YouTube over the weekend as well:

• Saturday June 4:
  • 8 - 9:30 a.m. ET
• Sunday June 5:
  • 7 - 8 a.m. ET