Canada's women's K4 500 metres team came second with 38 per cent of the vote to narrowly miss out, but de Cesare took the prize for his performance at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara.

De Cesare won the men's K1 200m having already qualified Ecuador for the London 2012 Olympic Games for his performance at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary earlier in the year.

He returned to the sport in 2010 and said that the gold medal won in Guadalajara was the highlight of his career.

"This medal is the most important achievement of my career, and it means a lot, because I wanted to go to a Pan Am Games for almost 20 years," he said.

"I felt this time that many people and institutions trusted my abilities and knew I was capable of winning a medal, so I had to respond."

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