Adam van Koeverden
MP
Van Koeverden in 2008
Member of Parliament
for Milton
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byLisa Raitt
Personal details
Born
Adam Joseph van Koeverden

(1982-01-29) January 29, 1982
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceMilton, Ontario
Alma materMcMaster University (BSc)
Sports career
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight190 lb (86 kg)
SportKayaking
Event(s)K-1 1000m, K-1 500m
ClubBurloak Canoe Club
Medal record
Men's canoeing
Representing Canada Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2004 AthensK-1 500 m
Silver medal – second place2008 BeijingK-1 500 m
Silver medal – second place2012 LondonK-1 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place2004 AthensK-1 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 DuisburgK-1 500 m
Gold medal – first place2011 SzegedK-1 1000 m
Silver medal – second place2003 GainesvilleK-1 1000 m
Silver medal – second place2005 ZagrebK-1 1000 m
Silver medal – second place2007 DuisburgK-1 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place2005 ZagrebK-1 500 m
Bronze medal – third place2009 DartmouthK-1 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place2010 PoznańK-1 500 m
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place2015 TorontoK-1 1000 m

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 the 2019 Canadian federal election, Van Koeverden was first 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 eighth 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] At the 2016 Rio Olympics he finished first in the B final, placing ninth overall.[11]

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.[12][13] Van Koeverden won the Liberal nomination on January 20, 2019, and won the Liberal seat in Milton on October 21, 2019,[14] defeating the incumbent, Conservative Party deputy leader Lisa Raitt, taking over 51% of the vote to Raitt's 36%.

In the 2021 federal election, Van Koeverden received over 51% of the vote defeating challenger Nadeem Akbar who carried just over 33% of the vote.[15]

In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Van Koeverden was one of the 313 Canadians banned from entering Russia because of his support for Ukraine.[16]

Also in 2022, Van Koeverden told an Ontario born New Zealand school teacher to "F--- off" during a heated exchange on Canada's covid vaccine policy. Van Koeverden apologized indirectly for the vulgar utterance.[17]

As of November 2023, Van Koeverden was listed on the House of Commons website as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity.[18]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Milton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAdam van Koeverden30,88251.70+11.26$109,480.90
ConservativeLisa Raitt21,56436.10-9.28$79,176.58
New DemocraticFarina Hassan3,8516.50-4.38none listed
GreenEleanor Hayward2,7694.60+2.31$11,179.13
People'sPercy Dastur6131.00-none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 59,679100.0  
Total rejected ballots 379
Turnout 60,05870.81
Eligible voters 84,806
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +10.27
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]
2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalAdam van Koeverden28,50351.5-0.2
ConservativeNadeem Akbar18,31333.1-3.0
New DemocraticMuhammad Riaz Sahi4,9258.9+2.4
People'sShibli Haddad2,3654.3+3.3
GreenChris Kowalchuk1,2802.3-2.3
Total valid votes 55,38699.4
Total rejected ballots 3250.6
Turnout 55,71162.6
Eligible voters 88,998
Liberal hold Swing -0.2
Source: Elections Canada[21][22]

See also

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. ↑ "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. ↑ "Adam van Koeverden". olympic.ca.
  12. ↑ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ @vankayak (October 4, 2018). "After representing Canada for 20..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Stober, Eric (January 20, 2019). "Former Olympic kayaker Adam van Koeverden wins federal Liberal nomination in Milton". Global News. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  15. ↑ Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Justin Trudeau among 313 Canadians banned from Russia - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ "MP Adam van Koeverden apologizes after dropping F-bomb on Canadian questioning vaccine mandates | CBC.ca". CBC News. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Members of Parliament > Adam van Koeverden". ourcommons.ca. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  21. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  22. ↑ Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca.
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