Canadian Olympic gold medalist Adam Van Koeverden of Toronto, Ontario has been named the new Canadian Secretary of State for Sport on Tuesday. It is interesting that the Canadian Liberal Government no longer has a cabinet minister for sport, and that Van Koeverden was one of 10 secretaries of state named on Tuesday. Van Koeverden is the Member of Parliament representing Burlington North-Milton West.
There have been three other Canadian Secretaries of State for Sport throughout history. Denis Coderre of Joliette, Quebec, who later became the mayor of Montreal, held the position from 1999 to 2003. Paul DeVillers of Simcoe, Ontario held the position in 2003, and Helena Guergis of Barrie, Ontario was the Canadian Secretary of State from 2007 to 2008. Otherwise, there have been 32 Canadian cabinet sport ministers throughout history.
Van Koeverden won the gold medal for Canada at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He placed first in the men’s 500 metre kayaking event. Van Koeverden had a winning time of 1:37.919. Nathan Baggaley of Australia won the silver medal with a time of 1:38.467. Ian Wynne of Great Britain won the bronze medal with a time of 1:38.547,
Also at the Olympic Games, Van Koeverden won the bronze medal in the men’s 1000 metre kayaking at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, a silver medal in the men’s 500 metre kayaking at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and a silver medal in the men’s 1000 metre kayaking at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Van Koeverden also won gold in the men’s 500 metre kayaking at the 2007 World Sprint Canoe Championships in Duisburg, Germany, and the gold medal in the men’s 1000 metre kayaking at the 2011 World Sprint Canoe Championships in Szeged, Hungary.
