By Kaitlyn LeBoutillier
Orienteering Ottawa’s Daniel Mahoney won three gold medals and two silver from his five individual races at the Canadian/North American Orienteering Championships, excelling for both his home club and in his hometown of Kingston.
Competing in the under-18 male division, the 15-year-old won North American titles in the middle and long-distance races and earned silver in the same Canadian events to go alongside national gold in the sprint event.
“I was really happy with my results. They were just amazing races and an amazing time in the forest. That’s all I can really ask for,” underlines Mahoney, who had Orienteering Ottawa teammates Dylan Revells and Hayden Smith at his side on the podium in the silver medal position for the Canadian sprint and North American middle events, respectively.
Mahoney joined the Orienteering Ottawa community back in 2019 when he attended his first Canadian Championships in Quebec. Like many others in the sport, he found orienteering through his parents.
“My dad did this as a kid,” Mahoney notes. “His family was very into this sport for a few years back when he was a teenager, so he wanted to get us involved. I really picked it up, really loved it.
The were several more Mahoneys who earned podium performances at the championships, which featured divisions ranging from U10 to 90+.
Once they’d caught the orienteering bug, Mahoney’s family would travel to Ottawa to train and compete from Kingston, where they live.
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“My family, they all love it, and they’re all willing to drive or drive me up for events, so it’s not a big deal that we live so far away,” signals Mahoney, whose club hosted the final leg of the Canadian Orienteering Festival in Calabogie.
It was special, and beneficial from a performance perspective, to have the Canadian sprint event held around the Queen’s University campus in Kingston, he adds.
“Being stuck in a car for two hours before your race is definitely not good for your legs,” Mahoney smiles. “But the best part of this festival being in Kingston is that now we can use the maps they made. I can train close to home and I can train more even in weeks where I don’t have time to drive four hours.”
Mahoney, who also celebrated a youth national relay title, plans to attend the U.S. nationals in Scranton, PA this fall, and he’s also got his eye on joining Team Canada and attending a future Junior World Orienteering Championships.
Alec Le Helloco was the star performer for the host Ottawa club throughout the championships, as he swept all five races of the U20 male Canadian and North American competitions.
Also achieving podium performances for Orienteering Ottawa in youth/open classes were Lucy Revells, Clara Nales, Grayson Smith, Sherlock Connell, Holly Smith, Woodrow Connell, Ewan Edmunds-Boerschke, Kaylee Mahoney, Lily Powell, William Mahoney, Rory Eamer, Saskia Edmunds-Boerschke, Lukas Raz and Eric Kemp, while many more excelled in masters age group competition.
