July Snapshots: A roundup of local athletes’ action

Rideau canoers excel at national team trials, five selected for Team Canada

Two members of the Rideau Canoe Club appeared on same podium at Canoe Kayak Canada’s National Sprint team trials on June 24. Stephen Frodsham won the men’s single-canoe 500 m race, and Drew Hodges took 3rd place. The 500 m race took place on the third and final day of the trials at the Basin Olympic in Montreal. Two days later, Canoe Kayak Canada announced its selected national teams. A total of five Rideau Club members made the list: Frodsham and Hodges are on the senior men’s canoe team, Rowan Hardy-Kavanagh made the women’s canoe team, and Natalie Davidson and Madeleine Schmidt will race for the women’s kayak team.

Ryan takes home silver at Pan Am Fencing Championships

Ottawa’s Kelleigh Ryan was Canada’s top women’s foil athlete at the 2018 Pan Am Fencing Championships in Havana, Cuba. Ryan won her bout against American fencer Nicole Ross 14-5 in the semis. It took the world’s 3rd ranked fencer Lee Kiefer of the US to stop Ryan, who lost to Kiefer in the finals by a close 15-12 score to take silver. In all, Canada won eight medals at the championships – six silver and two bronze. Expect to see Ryan and other top Canadians at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China from July 19-27.

Ottawa one of six cities to host 2021 soccer national championships

Canada Soccer has decided on six locations for the 2020 and 2021 Toyota National Championships, and Ottawa is the chosen city for the 2021 U-15 Cup. Over 600 amateur clubs and 10,000 players compete annually in the championships. Ottawa was selected out of 15 candidates that were interested in hosting either the adult, U-15 or U-17 events.

Blondin named female speedskating athlete of the year

Speed Skating Canada unveiled its 2018 award winners on June 15, and Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin was honoured with the Catriona Le May Doan Award for the top female long track skater of the year. The award’s namesake implies a great deal of achievement: Doan won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in in 1998 and 2002 (500 m). This year Blondin, 28, competed at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, where she finished 4th in team pursuit, 5th in the 5000 m and 6th in the 3000 m. Speed Skating Canada also awarded the Guy-Marcoux Officials Mentor Award to Ottawa’s Sandra Chenard, and local skater Isabelle Weidemann won a Peter Williamson Memorial Trust Fund Bursary for her combined athletic and scholastic efforts.

Wiebe wrestles to gold at Canada Cup

Ottawa’s Erica Wiebe defeated 2017 World Championships bronze medalist Justina Di Stasio to win gold in the 76 kg weight class at the Canada Cup. Wiebe has had Di Stasio’s number of late, having also defeated her in a March matchup to secure her place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Wiebe is best known for her gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics – the third ever in Canadian wrestling at the Summer Games.

National rowing teams announced, three Ottawans make the cut

Rowing Canada Aviron announced its selections for the Junior, U23, U21, FISU and CanAmMex teams that will represent Canada internationally this summer. Alex Bernst and Alanna Fogerty of the Ottawa Rowing Club were among the selected athletes, both as lightweight doubles. Fogerty made the FISU World University Championship Team while Bernst will compete at the U23 World Championships. Ottawa native Louis Munro of the Kingston Rowing Club also made the U23 World Championships Team and will row as part of the four-person women’s squad.