Richard Dalton of Halifax and Benjamin Russell of Dartmouth, N.S., opened the first of two national canoe and kayak team trials with two victories Saturday in Montreal.
Dalton and Russell won the C-1 200-metre and C-2 1,000. Andrew Willows of Gananoque, Ont., and Kia Byers of Regina were also victors in opening 200-metre finals under cloudy and sometimes rainy conditions at the Olympic Basin.
In the men's C-1 200, Dalton produced a powerful push at the finish to win in 43.857. Cory Rublee of Kamloops, B.C., was second in 45.798 and Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., third in 46.058.
"In my semi I made a few mistakes in the wind and got off balance too much," said Dalton, a finalist at the 2007 and 2009 worlds in the 200. "I refocused for the final and stayed a lot more loose and concentrated on the finish line."
In the late afternoon, he combined forces with Russell to win in 3:42.954. Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Andrew Russell of Dartmouth were second in 3:43.275 and Jamie Andison of Oakville, Ont., and Ian Mortimer of Ottawa third in 3:45.987.
In the men's K-1 200 final, Willows took the gold in 38.488 seconds edging another veteran Richard Dober of Trois-Rivieres, Que., in second at 38.579. Connor Taras of Waverley, N.S., was third in 38.755.
In the women's K-1 200, Byers won a very close race in 44.555. Genevieve Orton of Lake Echo, N.S., was second in 44.692 and Emilie Fournel of Montreal third in 45.346.
"It's always exciting to race but winning is pretty awesome too," said Byers, 22. "I like the shorter distances and I just try to remember to stay relaxed and remind myself that I do this because it is fun and I enjoy it."
In the women's C-1 200, Laurence Vincent-Lapointe of Trois-Rivieres, Que., was first while Nicole Haywood of Nanaimo, B.C., and Jenna Marks of Dartmouth were second and third, respectively.
