# Mark de Jonge > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_de_Jonge > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_de_Jonge.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_de_Jonge > Source revision: 1321268931 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the French actor, see [Marc de Jonge](/source/Marc_de_Jonge). **Mark de Jonge** (born 15 February 1984) is a Canadian male [sprint canoeist](/source/Canoe_sprint), primarily specializing the 200 m kayak event. De Jonge won a bronze medal in the K-1 200 m at the [2012 Summer Olympics](/source/2012_Summer_Olympics) in [London](/source/London). He is the two time reigning world champion in same event having also won a silver medal at the [ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships](/source/ICF_Canoe_Sprint_World_Championships) in [2013](/source/2013_ICF_Canoe_Sprint_World_Championships). He is also the current Pan American champion in the 200 having won gold in [Toronto](/source/Toronto) at the [2015 Pan American Games](/source/2015_Pan_American_Games) in [Toronto](/source/Toronto), where he also won an additional bronze, and a silver and bronze at previous editions of the Pan Am Games. He was named the [Air Canada](/source/Air_Canada) Athlete of the Year in 2015 for Canada. ## Career Born in Calgary in 1984, de Jonge moved to [Halifax](/source/Halifax_Regional_Municipality) in 1997 where he started kayaking.[2] His parents enrolled him in the popular local sport at the Maskwa Aquatics Club as a way of getting to know other children in the area.[2] Despite being a competitive kayaker he missed out on the 2004 and 2008 editions of the [Summer Olympics](/source/Summer_Olympics). He did win a silver medal at the [2007 Pan American Games](/source/2007_Pan_American_Games) in the men's K-4 1,000 metres event, alongside [Angus Mortimer](/source/Angus_Mortimer), [Jeremy Bordeleau](/source/Jeremy_Bordeleau) and [Chris Pellini](/source/Chris_Pellini). In the [2012 Summer Olympics](/source/2012_Summer_Olympics) he won bronze in the [K-1 200 metres](/source/Canoeing_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_K-1_200_metres) event. When the quick sprint 200 m event was added to the Olympics de Jonge saw his opportunities flourish, as the event suited his skill set aptly.[2] Yet he missed out on most of the qualifying events after he dropped an 80lb weight on his finger training in 2012.[2] Despite the injury he still managed to win the national trials and qualify for the [2012 Summer Olympics](/source/2012_Summer_Olympics). There he won a bronze in the inaugural event. After he said "Obviously, I did want gold. But I was never thinking about the result. I’m happy with the bronze. I’m really happy that I had an awesome race out there, three really good races at the Olympics. I’m proud that, when the time came, I was really ready to go."[3] De Jonge built off the Olympic success winning his first world cup medal the following year, he then won a silver in the 200 at the [2013 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships](/source/2013_ICF_Canoe_Sprint_World_Championships).[2] At the [2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships](/source/2014_ICF_Canoe_Sprint_World_Championships) he won his first world championships title while also setting the world record in the semi-finals on his way to the title. With the win in [Moscow](/source/Moscow) he said that "For years I've sort of dreamed of this moment."[4] de Jonge repeated as world champion at the [2015 world championships](/source/2015_ICF_Canoe_Sprint_World_Championships) and in December was named the 2015 Air Canada athlete of the year through an online voting process.[5] In May 2021, de Jonge was named to [Canada's 2020 Olympic team](/source/Canada_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics).[6] ## Personal De Jonge graduated from [Dalhousie University](/source/Dalhousie_University) in Halifax with a degree in civil engineering in 2009. He worked full-time for three years with [Stantec Consulting](/source/Stantec) as an engineer-in-training before he took a leave of absence to focus on kayaking before the 2012 Olympics.[2] In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history.[7] ## References 1. ["Mark de Jonge profile"](http://olympic.ca/team-canada/mark-de-jonge/). *olympic.ca*. [Canadian Olympic Committee](/source/Canadian_Olympic_Committee). Retrieved July 13, 2016. 1. ["Mark de Jonge profile"](http://olympic.ca/team-canada/mark-de-jonge/). [Canadian Olympic Committee](/source/Canadian_Olympic_Committee). Retrieved 2016-07-14. 1. ["London 2012 kayak: Mark de Jonge wins bronze as Canada ties medal haul from Beijing: DiManno"](https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/2012/08/11/london_2012_kayak_mark_de_jonge_wins_bronze_as_canada_ties_medal_haul_from_beijing_dimanno.html). *[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)*. August 11, 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-13. 1. ["Paddler Mark de Jonge wins gold at worlds"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/paddler-mark-de-jonge-wins-gold-at-worlds-1.2732490). [CBC Sports](/source/CBC_Sports). August 10, 2014. Retrieved 2016-07-14. 1. Paul Palmeter (December 11, 2015). ["Mark de Jonge, world champion kayaker, wins national award"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mark-de-jonge-national-award-1.3360556). [CBC Sports](/source/CBC_Sports). Retrieved 2016-07-14. 1. ["Canadian Men’s Kayak Crews Punch Tickets to Tokyo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210515230906/https://canoekayak.ca/canadian-mens-kayak-crews-punch-tickets-to-tokyo/). *www.canoekayak.ca*. [Canoe Kayak Canada](/source/Canoe_Kayak_Canada). 13 May 2021. Archived from [the original](https://canoekayak.ca/canadian-mens-kayak-crews-punch-tickets-to-tokyo/) on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021. 1. Tattrie, Jon (30 April 2018). ["Sidney Crosby to headline 'greatest sports dinner' in Nova Scotia"](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/sidney-crosby-to-headline-greatest-sports-dinner-in-nova-scotia-1.4641550). CBC Sports. Retrieved 27 July 2018. - [Canadian Olympic Committee](https://web.archive.org/web/20080620022227/http://www.olympic.ca/EN/2007rio/2007_handbook/details.php?lastname=de%20Jonge&firstname=Mark) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mark de Jonge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_de_Jonge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_de_Jonge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.