Heinz Poenn

Born in Germany and immigrating to Canada in 1957, Heinz Poenn’s competitive career spanned the late 1960s and the early part of the 1970s. A pioneer of the canoe slalom discipline, Poenn made significant contributions to the white-water paddling community in Canada, including competing as a member of the first-ever Canadian team at the 1965 World Championships in Austria. Poenn went on to represent Canada in the canoe-slalom K-1 event at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, finishing 35th.

Once retired from competing, Poenn stayed involved in the sport as a provincial and national team coach, an executive member with the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and was instrumental in bringing the 1979 Slalom and Downriver World Championships to Jonquiere, Quebec. Poenn facilitated launching the Minden White Water Preserve on the Gull River in Ontario, the course that hosted canoe slalom events of the 2015 Pan American Games (Toronto), where Poenn was also in attendance.