Will the future of canoeing be played out on the American continent? The world body of the discipline (ICF) believes so. Its president, Thomas Konietzko, its vice-president, Cecilia Farias, and its secretary general, Richard Pettit, went as a delegation to Puerto Rico to meet Victor Ruiz, the president of the Pan American Canoe-Kayak Federation (COPAC). On the agenda of discussions, the future of canoeing in the region, particularly at the Pan American Games. For the first time, in fact, Olympic quotas for the Los Angeles 2028 Games will be distributed at the 2027 Pan American Games in Colombia for sprint, slalom and kayak cross. It was also discussed, during the meeting in Puerto Rico, the designation by the ICF of a manager based on the American continent, in charge of development, training of coaches and the establishment of structures sustainable for national federations. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, the countries of the Pan American zone achieved historic performances, four of them leaving Japan with at least one medal (Brazil, Cuba and United States in gold, Canada in silver and bronze).
