Top Kayaker to Compete in Catalina Race

Record-setting U.S. kayaker Sheila Conover of Newport Beach will be among the participants in the 26-mile Catalina Crossing Outrigger Canoe race this weekend.

The annual event, which includes a women’s race from Newport Bay to Avalon on Saturday and a return men’s race from Avalon to the Newport Dunes Aquatic Park on Sunday, is expected to attract more than 80 men’s and women’s nine-member teams.

Conover, who posted an American record time of 1 minute 53.04 seconds in the women’s 500-meter single kayak event in Barcelona, will compete with the Offshore Canoe Club in the Catalina Crossing. Offshore has won all 13 previous women’s races, which began in 1979.

The Offshore team will also compete in the Molokai Channel race Sept. 27 in Hawaii.

Conover is coming off a record-setting, eight gold-medal performance at the U.S. National Canoe and Kayak Championships Aug. 13-15 at Lake Natoma near Sacramento. Conover earned victories in the 500 single, double and quadruple; the 1,000 single, double and quad and the 5,000 single and double.

The 1992 U.S. Nationals marked the first time 1,000-meter women’s events were contested, which gave Conover the opportunity to surpass the previous record of six golds at the U.S. nationals. In her career, Conover, 29, has won 26 gold medals at the U.S. nationals, including 13 in the past two years.

Conover’s teammates in the 500 and 1,000 quad events included Lea Rousset, 14, of Lido Island, who trains at the Newport Aquatic Center.