Ottawa River & Rideau Paddlers earn matching top local result of 5th at Olympic Hopes

Athletes from the Rideau Canoe Club and the Ottawa River Canoe Club travelled to Racice, Czech Republic to compete as part of Team Canada in the Olympic Hopes Regatta held from Sept. 15-17. The event is for paddlers born in 2000 or later, who hope to measure their competition against the best in the world with the goal of qualifying for the next Olympic Games. Michaela Ermanovics of the Rideau Canoe Club picked up a 5th place finish in the C2 Women’s 1000m, a 6th place finish in the C2 Women’s 200m, and 8th place in the C1 Women’s 200m. Nikole Gorelova of the Ottawa River Canoe Club came 5th in the C2 Women’s 1000m, 7th in the C1 Women’s 1000m, and 7th in the C2 Women’s 200m. Rideau’s Adam Richard placed 6th in the C4 Men’s 200m. Matthew O’Neill came 7th in the C2 Men’s 200m and 8th in the C2 Men’s 1000m and C1 Men’s 500m. Maren Bradley, of Rideau, placed 9th in the K1 Women’s 1000m. Canada earned 5 bronze medals, 3 silvers and 1 gold, ranking in 6th place of 33 countries.