Marietta Canoe Athlete Looks to Book Olympic Ticket

 This weekend marks the last chance for Marietta's Jeff Larimer to qualify a boat quota slot for the London 2012 Olympic Games in canoe/kayak.

Six U.S. canoe athletes hope to qualify two boats at the 2012 Slalom Pan American Championships in Foz do Iguassu, Brazil, March 9 to 11.

The athletes must finish first in men's single canoe (C-1) and men's double canoe (C-2) in order to earn the Olympic slot.

Representing Team USA are:

• C-1 Benn Fraker (Peachtree City) 2008 Olympian
• C-1 Casey Eichfeld (Drums, Pa.) 2008 Olympian
• C-1 Zach Lokken (Durango, Colo.)
• C-1 Devin McEwan (Salisbury, Conn.)
• C-2 Eric Hurd (Woodstock) and Jeff Larimer (Marietta)
• C-2 Devin McEwan and Casey Eichfeld

Jeff Larimer and Eric Hurd form a U.S. C-2 boat. Together, they finished 18th at the 2011 World Cup No. 3 and 32nd at the 2011 World Championships.

Larimer, 30, is a carpenter and attended Georgia State University.

The athletes that qualify the Olympic slots are not necessarily the ones that will compete for the U.S. at London 2012. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team will be determined by performances at the 2012 Slalom National Team Trials in Charlotte, NC, April 12 to 14, and the first stop on the 2012 World Cup circuit.

The U.S. men's canoe athletes were unable to earn 2012 slots at the other Olympic qualifier, the 2011 Slalom World Championships. As of yet, no athletes from the region have qualified Olympic slots in men's C-1 or C-2, which makes for a full and competitive field.

The U.S. has already qualified one boat quota slot in both men and women's slalom kayak at the 2011 World Championships and will not participate this weekend. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Canoe/Kayak Team will also include two sprint boats, one men's single kayak and one women's single kayak.