OKC selected as site for sprint trials

The road to the 2008 Olympics will run through Oklahoma City.

Well, not so much a road as a river.

Oklahoma City has been selected as the site for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Sprint Canoe/Kayak.

The event will be April 18-20, 2008, on the Oklahoma River's championship course, which was recently completed.

Winners at the Trials will serve as the U.S. team at the 2008 Pan American Championships and the Continental Qualification event for the Olympics.

"The Oklahoma River course is built quite similarly to the major European venues,” said David Yarborough, Executive Director of USA Canoe/Kayak. "From an athlete's perspective, the course itself is exceptional and like the major European venues, Oklahoma City's is in a dynamic urban center, making it easy to view the sport. I'm sure the enthusiasm of the spectators will be felt and appreciated by our athletes.”

The event will be run out of the Chesapeake Boathouse, the state-of-the-art facility that has brought other prestigious rowing events to the Oklahoma River.

"The USOC is committed to working in partnership with USA Canoe/Kayak and Oklahoma City to provide a world-class Olympic Trials event that will be the first step towards our common goal of competitive excellence in Beijing,” said Steve Roush, the USOC's Chief of Sport Performance. "The Oklahoma River Championship course and the Chesapeake Boathouse provides the type of world-class setting these Olympic hopefuls deserve.”

Among the athletes with Olympic Games experience who are expected to race in Oklahoma City are Carrie Johnson of Chula Vista, Calif., who had the top performance among U.S. sprint paddlers at the 2004 Athens Games, and Rami Zur of Newport Beach, Calif., who competed in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.