HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Local paddlers lead Canada’s medal charge at senior sprint canoe worlds

By Martin Cleary

The National Capital Region was the centre of the universe last week for all things sprint canoe and kayak, at least from a Canadian perspective.

In Poznan, Poland, high-performance athletes Sophia Jensen, Brianna Hennessy and Zoe Wojtyk claimed ownership to all five medals (one gold, two silver and two bronze) won by Canada at the world senior sprint canoe and paracanoe championships.

Canada placed seventh overall in the medal standings and shared ninth based on gold medals.

At the Rideau Canoe Club, the host paddlers in their traditional purple tops maintained their reputation as one of the top clubs in the country, when they finished second overall at the Canadian sprint canoe kayak and paracanoe championships.

Jensen of the Cascades Canoe Club was the standout athlete in this historic week of paddling for the region as she came within half a second of being a double gold-medallist at the world championships in Poznan.

Using a controlled, deep and long stroke on the left side, Jensen powered her way through winds and waves to her first individual world title, when she battled and overcame Hungary’s Agnes Anna Kiss with an unmatched time of two minutes, 0.78 seconds in the women’s C1 500-metre final.

Kiss, who held a slim 0.15-second lead at the 250-metre mark, was overtaken by Jensen with 150 metres remaining and stopped in 2:02.80 for the silver medal. The bronze medal went to Alena Nazcrova of AIN-B (Individual Neutral Athletes) in 2:04.80.

A 2024 Paris Olympian from Chelsea, Jensen previously won gold at the 2022 worlds in C-4 500 metres and a silver in the C-1 500 metres, but had never celebrated a gold medal in an individual race.

“I am so excited, is this even really happening?” Jensen said in a post-race interview on the dock. “I am feeling really blessed.

“The downs have definitely been outweighing the ups, but this is making me feel so happy with my journey and trusting myself.”

On Sunday, Jensen, 24, attacked the C1 200-metre final and finished with the silver medal in 44.90 seconds, while Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan seized the gold medal in 44.40 seconds. Nevin Harrison of the United States took the bronze in 45.04 seconds.

Jensen, who won four silver medals and one bronze medal in five individual World Cup races this season before worlds, made a courageous change to her preparation schedule for the 2025-26 season, when she decided to train with familiar coaches rather than follow the national team program.

Her overall results vindicated her decision. Throughout the national team trials, Jensen proved she was the strongest individual canoe racer and qualified for both C1 races over 200 and 500 metres. But Canoe Kayak Canada penalized her by not allowing Jensen to compete in the C2 or C4 crew boats.

Jensen preferred to train with coaches Fred Loyer at the Lac Beauport club, Cascades head coach Karen Lukanovich and Franck Gomez with Canoe Kayak Quebec. Loyer coached Jensen early in her career.

“It’s a great year for her,” Loyer told Sportcom reporter Eve Menard. “She’s full of confidence. I see her very happy and I’m very proud to see her shining. She’s in her element.

“I’m discovering a formidable athlete and I can see that she’s blossoming. It’s great for her and it’s great for Canada.”

After a difficult 2025 season, her approach and accomplishments of this season have steered her onto a better pathway heading to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

“I think she doubted herself to an unimaginable degree,” Loyer added. “It’s tough when it’s a part of your life and you can’t put it all back together. But she succeeded. So, I imagine that in terms of joy, confidence and satisfaction, it must be incredible.”

Ottawa River Canoe Club’s Brianna Hennessy matched Jensen’s medal number output as she earned silver and bronze medals in the paracanoe division.

After winning her heats in both of her races, she finished second in the women’s VL2 200 metres and third in the women’s KL1 200 metres.

In the VL2 200-metre final, she finished 2.06 seconds behind Great Britain’s Emma Wiggs, who captured her 13th career world title in 58.76 seconds. It was particularly satisfying for Wiggs as she missed the 2025 world championships because of a shoulder injury.

Hennessy crossed the finish in 1:00.82 for her seventh career worlds medal, while defending champion Anastasia Miasnikova of AIN-B was third in 1:02.31.

Chile’s Katherine Wollermann was the women’s KL1 200-metre champion with Maosan Xie of China and Hennessy filling the other two podium spots with respective times of 53.92 seconds and 54.20 seconds.

“It was one of those days,” Hennessy told Louis Daignault of the Canadian Paralympic Committee about her silver-medal effort. “I spent my entire race not trying to capsize. The work my coach and I have poured in all year had to take a back seat to survival to cross the finish line.”

Windy conditions made for challenging waves at the most inopportune time for Hennessy and her peers.

“There’s a side to para kayak racing that most people never see, when the water turns unpredictable,” she explained. “With the lack of function in our core and legs, we faced adversity in a way that can be genuinely scary and nerve wracking.

“I’m so damn proud of each and every one of you (referring to her fellow finalists). We pushed through chaos, held our ground and got through one hell of a rodeo together.”

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Rideau Canoe Club’s Zoe Wojtyk, Elizabeth Desrosiers-McArthur, Sloan MacKenzie and Katie Vincent produced Canada’s other medal, a bronze in the women’s C4 500-metre final.

China won the race in 1:45.68, while Hungary claimed second at 1:46.61 and Canada took third in 1:48.17.

Rideau’s Toshka Besharah, the 2025 world U23 200-metre champion, won her final race, which was the B final as she covered the women’s K1 200-metre final in 41.53 seconds.

HOST RIDEAU CANOE CLUB PLACES SECOND AT CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

For the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in its history, Maskwa Aquatic Club of Halifax won the overall points burgee at the Canoe Kayak Canada national sprint and paracanoe championships at the Rideau Canoe Club.

And Maskwa achieved the feat in a special way by breaking the points record with an unprecedented total of 1,309.

Rideau was a distant second place with 882 points, while Lac Beauport Canoe-Kayak Club claimed third place at 509 points.

Carleton Place Canoe Club took 10th place at 214 points and the Ottawa River Canoe Club tied for 14th place at 154 points.

Maskwa and Rideau have dominated the chase for the championship burgee since 2015. During those 11 national championships (COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 competition), Maskwa and Rideau each earned six titles. They shared the 2023 title because of a points controversy.

Since the national championships started in 1900, Rideau has captured 12 titles, finished second 11 times and stood in third place 12 times. Rideau also has played host to nationals 29 times.

Here are the Eastern Ontario Division medallists from the final day of the national championships:

· Mason Cobb and Daniel Seely, Rideau, U16 men’s K2 1,000 metres, gold, 3:40.211.

· Devlin Payne and Luka Ribero, Carleton Place, U16 men’s C2 1,000 metres, gold, 4:13.707.

· Alexander Hoferek, David Stewart, Ryan Naroditsky and Thomas Beauregard, Rideau, senior men’s K4 500 metres, gold, 1:24.248.

· Temitope Olasupo, Rideau, para men’s KL2 200 metres, gold, 45.551 seconds.

· Amelie Beauchamp-Grandmaitre, Rideau, V.A. open women’s K1 200 metres, gold, 52.139 seconds.

· Alexander Hoferek, Ryan Naroditsky, Alessandro Pucci and Riley Taylor, Rideau, open men’s K4 200 metres, gold, 31.078 seconds.

· Maren Bradley, Kate Osborne, Emily Best and August Sibthorpe, Rideau, open women’s K4 200 metres, gold, 38.122 seconds.

· Iza Cook, Ottawa River, para general K1 200 metres, silver, 1:16.066.

· Simon Olivier Auger, Rideau, masters men’s K1 500 metres, silver, 1:53.453.

· Marielle Hawkes, Rideau, masters women’s K1 500 metres, silver, 2:10.663.

· Fletcher Sloan, Rideau, PaddleAll men’s ICF K1 200 metres, silver, 49.608 seconds.

· Allessandro Pucci and Fletcher Sloan, Rideau, open men’s Unified K2 200 metres, silver, 42.162 seconds.

· Melanie Manion and Sarah Madore, Ottawa River, PaddleAll women’s K2 200 metres, silver, 1:34.430.

· Keisa Bleiler and Ruby Muhl, Rideau, senior women’s C2 500 metres, silver, 2:06.234.

· Sarah Hogan, Rideau, para general K1 200 metres, bronze, 1:41.084.

· Kyle Smith, Rideau, masters men’s K1 500 metres, bronze, 1:53.677.

· Andrew Gordon, Rideau, masters men’s C1 500 metres, bronze, 2:08.035.

· George Farnsworth, Alessandro Pucci, Riley Taylor and Gavin Burke, Rideau, U18 men’s K4 500 metres, bronze, 1:29.812.

· Adam Schlosser and Maxim Gorelov, Rideau, U18 men’s C2 500 metres, bronze, 1:52.593.

· Olivia Pucci, Beatrice Oger, Elia Semeniuk and August Sibthorpe, Rideau, junior women’s K4 500 metres, bronze, 1:44.718.

· Mustafa Hussein, Ottawa River, PaddleAll men’s ICF K1 200 metres, bronze, 51.832 seconds.

· Marika Holan-Stutz, Rideau, PaddleAll women’s touring K1 200 metres, bronze, 1:22.185.

· Matthew O’Neill and Isaac Finkelstein, Rideau, junior men’s C2 500 metres, bronze, 1:51.027.

· Samuel Galazka and George Farnsworth, Rideau, open men’s Unified K2 200 metres, bronze, 42.358 seconds.

· Rideau, women’s senior C15 war canoe 500 metres, bronze, 2:03.338.

Read earlier High Achievers coverage for local results from previous days: DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4

Read More: Sweet potato-loving paddlers celebrate sweet home national podiums

MERISSAH RUSSELL RETURNS FOR FIBA 3×3 SERIES, WINS 2ND TOURNAMENT & MVP AWARD

Ottawa’s Merissah Russell rejoined the Canadian women’s 3×3 basketball team for the FIBA series stop in Takasaki, Japan and once again emerged with a tournament victory and most valuable player honours.

Canada swept all five of its games at the event, downing opponents from the Netherlands, China, Azerbaijan and host Japan, who they beat 20-10 in the final.

Russell led the overall player value statistical category at 45.3 for the tournament while recording 12 drives, 32 total points and 17 highlights.

It was the Capital Courts Academy product’s second appearance for Canada this season. Canada won its only title in Russell’s other earlier appearance in May in Shanghai, where she was also named MVP.

OSU FORCE TAKE SILVER MEDAL IN PKs AT PDP SOCCER NATIONALS

The Ottawa South United Force settled for silver following an eventful U-15 Boys Cup tournament at the Canadian Player Development Program Championships, which were held from Aug. 26-30 in Montreal.

OSU opened the event with a 4-0 victory over Surrey United, but their championship hopes then took a hit with a 3-2 defeat to hometown Mont-Royal Outremont before a 3-0 win over Edmonton BTB wound up getting them through their group to the final via tiebreaker.

Facing fellow Ontario entry Woodbridge in the championship game, OSU’s Lucas Stavrianeas danced into the box through many defenders and drew a penalty kick, converted by Abderrahmane Bouzidi in the 46th minute.

Bouzidi doubled their lead with a second goal just three minutes later thanks to his free-kick missile that is rarely dangerous from as long a range at the youth level.

But Woodbridge fought back quickly to level the match 2-2 within seven minutes and ultimately prevailed 4-2 in penalty kicks to take the title.

GEE-GEES, RAVENS SHOW STRONG PASSING GAMES IN OUA FOOTBALL

Quarterbacks Josh Janssen of the University of Ottawa Gees and Elijah Barners of the Carleton University Ravens had almost identical and impressive starts to the OUA football season, but only one came away with a victory, while the other missed a win by two points.

Janssen completed 24 of 32 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns to spark the visiting Gee-Gees to a 38-28 victory over the University of Waterloo Warriors.

Barnes passed for 415 yards while connecting on 28 of 35 pass attempts for two touchdowns, but the visiting Ravens were edged 35-34 by the York University Lions.

Tristan Gilbert Thibault caught touchdown passes from Janssen covering 43 and two yards and the quarterback also threw a 14-yard strike to Devaughan Blackwood for a touchdown. Oluwaseyitan Ayedegbe ran one yard for Ottawa’s final touchdown.

Placement kicker Zachary Copeland contributed field goals from 10, 29 and 11 yards as well as four converts. Zachary Aubin kicked a single point.

Souleymane Camara rushed for 147 yards on 21 carries, while Blackwood caught 10 passes for 157 yards for the Gee-Gees.

Frederick Hachey was Barnes’ favourite receiver as he made nine receptions for 196 yards, including first-half touchdowns covering 28 and 19 yards.

Matthew Morin and Zacharie Georges both rushed for one-yard touchdowns. Carlton Thai kicked field goals from 20 and 28 yards and added four converts.

Nash Macdonald also had a century game, gaining 118 yards off six receptions.

In women’s soccer, the Gee-Gees opened their season with a pair of one-goal, road victories, blanking the Ravens 1-0 and Nipissing University Lakers 2-1.

Mary Lou Peledeau scored at the end of the first half to give Ottawa its win over Carleton. Laura Salgado earned the shutout, stopping three shots.

First-half goals by Hannah Neville and Clare Sun lifted the Gee-Gees past Nipissing. Salgado was quiet in net, making two saves off three shots.

Despite 10 shots on goal, Carleton could only score once by Sydney Atwell in a 2-1 loss to the Queen’s University Gaels.

KATRINA FRLAN, CHARLOTTE WILSON RINKS WIN CURLING OPENERS

Curling in August? Yes, it’s true.

Just ask skips Katrina Frlan of the Huntley Curling Club and Charlotte Wilson of the Rideau Curling Club, who won the respective women’s U20 and U18 titles at the U20 Phoenix Slam, the opening event of the Junior Slam Series in Kitchener.

Frlan won five of six matches, including an 8-2 decision over Claire Dubinsky of Kakabeka Falls in the women’s U20 final.

Wilson went undefeated in her six games, including a 7-1 victory over Lilly Twining of Huntley in the women’s U18 gold-medal match.

END NOTES

· Ella Lindsay of the Nepean-Ottawa Diving Club missed a spot in the final of the girls’ age 16-18 10-metre platform event by 1.05 points at the World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships in Croatia. The 16-year-old finished 13th overall with her score of 339.20. She placed ninth earlier in the girls’ 10 m synchro event.

· Brothers Jakob and Zakary Kaiser both earned silver medals at the Canadian BMX Racing Championships in St. Albert, AB. The Nepean BMX products were runners-up in the U23 men’s and junior men’s divisions respectively.