Adam Joseph van Koeverden (born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian sprint kayaker and politician. He is an Olympic gold medallist in the K-1 500m category (2004) 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 Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of t ...

. In the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Members of the House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the maximum four-year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', t ...

, Van Koeverden was first elected to the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commons ...

, representing the electoral district of Milton as a member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

caucus.

Early life and education

He was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

to a Dutch father, Joe van Koeverden, and a Hungarian mother, Beata Bokrossy. 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 St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School is a separate school in Oakville, Ontario. The school teaches curriculum based on the Catholic faith, and has close ties with the Diocese of Hamilton and the local church, St. Matthew's Parish ...

also located in Oakville. He plays guitar. Van Koeverden is a graduate of

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical ...

's Bachelor of Science Kinesiology program in Hamilton, Ontario. He graduated in June 2007 as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

of his class.

Career

Canoe sprinting

He won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m at the 1999 world junior championships in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

, 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 The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...

, 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 The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

as Canada's top athlete of 2004. In 2005, Van Koeverden won two medals at the

2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Zagreb, Croatia, in August 2005. Men race as individuals, pairs and quads over 200m, 500m and 1000m in both Canoe (Canadian) (C) and Kayak (K) events, giving a total of 18 gold medals. W ...

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 The 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Szeged, Hungary, from August 17 to 20 2006. This was the second time the Hungarian city had hosted the championships, doing so previously in 1998. Men race as individuals, pairs and quad ...

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

, 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 Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city population ...

, he won five gold medals (K-1 1000 m, K-2 1000 m, K-4 1000 m, K-4 200 m, and

War Canoe A war canoe is a watercraft of the canoe type designed and outfitted for warfare, and which is found in various forms in many world cultures. In modern times, such designs have become adapted as a sport, and "war canoe" can mean a type of flatwat ...

), 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. At the

2007 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2007 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, Germany on August 9–12, 2007 for the record-tying fourth time. The German city had hosted the championships previously in 1979, 1987, and 1995. It tied Duisburg with Belgrade, ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

, 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 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

with a time of 1:35.554. 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 Jules Timothy Brabants MBE (born 23 January 1977) is a British sprint kayaker who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won three medals with one gold (2008: K-1 1000 m) and two bronzes (2000: K-1 1000 m, 20 ...

ending in a photo finish with him. In the leadup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Van Koeverden was named

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

for the Canadian Olympic team at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, making him one of the few athletes to carry Canada's flag twice at the Olympics. To celebrate the success of the hometown hero, on October 17, 2008, Oakville Mayor

Rob Burton Rob Burton is a Canadian businessman, journalist and politician. He currently serves as the mayor of Oakville, Ontario, in Canada. He was elected in the municipal elections of 2006, having failed to unseat Ann Mulvale in 2003. He was re-elect ...

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. At the 2009 world championships in

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, 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. At the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

he won the silver medal in the same event, while Norwegian Eirik Verås Larsen won gold. At the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

he finished first in the B final, placing ninth overall.

Politics

On October 4, 2018, Van Koeverden announced he would be seeking the nomination of the

in the riding of Milton to be a candidate in the

. Van Koeverden won the Liberal nomination on January 20, 2019, and won the Liberal seat in Milton on October 21, 2019, defeating the incumbent, Conservative Party deputy leader

Lisa Raitt Lisa Sarah MacCormack Raitt (born May 7, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as a federal Cabinet minister and member of Parliament (MP) from 2008 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, Raitt was elected to the House of Common ...

, 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. In 2022, following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, Van Koeverden was one of the 313 Canadians banned from entering Russia because of his support for Ukraine. 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 sleight of tongue.

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Adam van Koeverden on Real ChampionsCanoe09.ca profileCanoeKayak Canada profile
* *
Official website of Adam van Koeverden
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koeverden, Adam van 21st-century Canadian politicians 1982 births Canadian male canoeists Canadian people of Dutch descent Canadian people of Hungarian descent Canadian sportsperson-politicians Canoeists from Toronto Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2015 Pan American Games Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Lou Marsh Trophy winners McMaster University alumni Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic canoeists of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in canoeing Olympic silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in canoeing Sportspeople from Milton, Ontario Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games