Van Koeverden takes on kayak legend in The Equalizer by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Adam van Koeverden drifts up to the dock in Welland, sitting in a boat that is both familiar and completely foreign. Yes, it is a kayak and van Koeverden has spent thousands of hours in one since he started paddling at the Burloak Canoe Club when he was 13. But this is not the narrow, streamlined kayak made of carbon fibre that he's used to win four Olympic medals and two world championships. "This is completely different," he says of the restored 1950s-era kayak. "It feels like a totally different sport." The greatest debates in sports often involve the comparison of athletes from different eras. Was Gordie Howe better than Wayne Gretzky? Was Babe Ruth the greatest home run hitter of all time, or does the title belong to Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds? The Equalizer, airing on the CBC's The Nature of Things, sets out to, if not to settle, at least provide more insight into how much technology plays a role in the performance of elite athletes. "You watch the Olympics and you see athletes in this amazing high-tech gear regularly breaking records," says executive producer Robert Lang, "and you wonder how much Pictured, Adam van Koeverden paddles in a restored 1950s kayak. The Burloak Canoe Club member used the kayak to attempt to beat the time of six-time Olympic champion Gert Fredriksson in the The Equalizer to see how much of a role technology plays in improved performance. The show airs on The Nature of Things tonight (March 3) at 8 p.m. Van Koeverden used the same equipment Fredriksson (inset) would have in the 1950s. | photos courtesy Kensington Communications of a role is technology playing in the distance they throw or the speed they go." Steve Haake, a sports scientist from Sheffield Hallam University, tackled the challenge by having today's athletes compete using the equipment athletes of the past used in competition to see how their performance compared. "We had an idea of which sports were most likely to work and have significant difference between past and present," Lang said. see Olympian on p.5 March Special Tender pieces of marinated pork, Served over rice, with Greek salad, garlic bread And Tzatziki pork souvlaki dinner $13.99 Visit our new location today! 2420 Lakeshore rd., W., Oakville Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner Great Family DininG For over 40 years! 905-827-4851 Mon. - Sat. 8am - 9pm Sun. 8am - 3pm ExtEndEd until March 31st Since 1967 upholstery & design StiLL time to get your patio cuShionS recovered *Lots of Sunbrella outdoor fabrics to choose from 1000's of designer fabrics to choose. 11-2345 Wyecroft Rd, Oakville · 905.616.3156 · www.baiers.ca