GAINESVILLE — The Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club was awarded the American Canoe Association Marathon national championships and national team time trials.
The announcement came over the weekend and will take place May 8-9 at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park.
"The committee is excited to announce that Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club has been selected to host the 2021 ACA Marathon National Championships," said ACA Marathon Chairman Brad Pennington. This event also serves as the Marathon Team Trials for selection to the 2021 ICF Marathon World Championships, to be held in Romania in September."
It marks the end of a long bid process that started in 2019. The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is moving ahead with Marathon World Championships for 2021. Pennington said the event will follow the appropriate COVID-19 safety guidelines.
"LCKC has hosted the Marathon Trials seven times, most recently in 2012," Pennington said. "Many of our committee members competed in those events, so we are familiar with both the excellent marathon course on Lake Lanier, as well as the strong leadership of the club to host another successful event."
Jim O’Dell, executive director of Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, in cooperation with the City of Gainesville, said it is an honor to host, once again, the championships and time trials.
"Our last time hosting these trials was 2012, so it is especially sweet to land this event. It really provides more opportunity to our athletes and the community in general," O'Dell said.
LCKC President Michael Braff also is looking forward to the event in May.
“We look forward to welcoming the Marathon Trials in May and working with the City of Gainesville…and educating the community about the sports and activities that are available as a
legacy of the Olympics,” Braff said.
Competitors from across the country will paddle in single and double ICF-approved canoes and kayaks on a course that will closely match the overall distance, number of portages and other characteristics of the ICF World Championship (7 laps with 7 portages of plus/minus 4.3 kilometers per lap totaling 30 km distance).
Portages will be on the beach at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park. May 8 will be all singles events, followed by all doubles events on Sunday, May 9. Non-Trials categories will be surf ski, fast sea kayak and standard canoe.
Lake Lanier Olympic Park has hosted many events over the past 25 years, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, National and International Rowing and Sprint Canoe/Kayak events regularly. The venue has also hosted the Dragon Boat festivals and the World Championships for Dragon Boat racing in 2018.
The LLOP hosts several non-racing events such as Food Truck Fridays, concerts, weddings and corporate events. Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club is a living legacy of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Founded in 1994, the club has introduced paddle-sports to thousands of youth and adults. In addition to sprint canoe/kayak, the club offers programs and events in marathon canoe/kayak, dragon boating, recreation, and stand-up paddleboarding.
The club has had one athlete qualify for the Olympics —Tim Hornsby, who started paddling after attending the 1996 Olympic Games. He competed for Team USA in sprint canoe/kayak Team USA during the 2012 London Games.
There have been numerous LCKC athletes who have competed in national and international competitions (marathon, sprint and dragon boat) for Team USA over the history of the club, with several World Champions crowned at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park in 2018 during Dragon Boat World Championships.
LCKC and the LLOP are home to Team USA sprint canoe/kayak and LCKC head Coach Zsolt Szadovszki; 2020(1) Tokyo-bound canoeist Nevin Harrison; and hopes and dreams of the Games starting with middle school youth in the Beginner Racing League.
