By Dan Plouffe
It was the moment Evangelia Sarlis had been dreaming of day after day for the better part of three years, and once it came, it was even better than she’d ever imagined.
The Kanata Rhythmic Gymnastics Club athlete had long eyed a place in the senior high-performance final at the Canadian Championships, which required a top-15 finish in qualifying.
She felt it was within her capabilities last year when her club hosted the nationals at Algonquin College, where the 21-year-old studies business administration.
But Sarlis made a lot of mistakes when the moment came and fell short of her objective by 3.7 points with a total score of 81.9, which she attributed to a lack of confidence.
She did take the positives in that it still represented a step closer to her goal, and when the 2026 nationals arrived, she was indeed ready to fulfill the potential she’d shown during many, many days training back at Bridlewood Community Elementary School.
This time, there was no denying Sarlis as she qualified for the high-performance final with her score of 89.650, ranking fifth overall among Canada’s best rhythmic gymnasts gathered in Winnipeg ready.
“It was a very beautiful moment,” Sarlis recounts. “There were some big goals that I’ve been wanting to achieve throughout a couple years, and meeting those meant a lot.”
She still found the qualifications stressful, but after she met her long-time goal, it was all gravy come the finals. Performing free, Sarlis scored even better in the final at 91.100 and took home bronze medals for the hoop and clubs events.
“That was really, really exciting, and I had a lot of fun doing that as well,” she highlights. “Once I made finals, it was this feeling of gratitude that I got to do all my routines again for the last time for the season, and knowing that it was my last time, I just wanted to put it all on the carpet, and that’s exactly how it felt. It was a really, really wonderful feeling.”
Sarlis’s 14th-place ribbon routine kept her off the all-around podium by 1.6 points, but her fourth-place all-around result is believed to be a tie for the best-ever in the senior high-performance category by a rhythmic gymnast from Ottawa. She equalled the 2013 finish of Kanata Rhythmic’s Lucinda Nowell, who went on to win two bronze medals at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games with the Canadian group rhythmic team.
“I truly can’t even believe it,” Sarlis says of the feat, reflecting on her journey in the sport, which began rather innocently at age 9, continued with several years on Kanata’s interclub team and two more with the provincial group before she began training for the national level at 16.
“I had no idea what I could do in this sport or what I could accomplish,” she adds. “I just did it because of love and passion for the sport, and it led in to this bigger achievement that I just didn’t expect.”
Sarlis especially appreciated sharing the breakthrough moment with her coach Yuliana Korolyova, who’s been with her throughout her rise.
“I’m very happy, and just really thankful for the coaches,” Sarlis signals. “I think I wouldn’t have been able to get through this whole year without my coaches and the support that I had from them. It wouldn’t have been possible at all without them.”
Sarlis says she benefitted from highly structured training. There were always a certain number of routines to be completed each practice, along with specific goals such as no drops or skills performed correctly.
There wasn’t one big moment where everything suddenly clicked for Sarlis. Increased confidence came as a product of long-term dedication.
“Consistency was a huge thing – just sticking to it,” indicates the athlete who won a dominant Eastern Canadian title in the build-up to the nationals. “The competitions over the course of the season I slowly felt it building, and there were moments throughout each competition that I realized that there was a lot of improvement, but then the biggest improvement I saw came at nationals.”
Korolyova felt “incredibly happy” to see Sarlis’s hard work come together on the big stage.
“Her biggest strengths are her work ethic, determination, and ability to keep pushing herself even when things don’t come easily,” she explains by email. “This result is about much more than one competition. Evangelia has been developing as an athlete for many years.
“It’s also a great example of what can happen when an athlete believes in the process and continues to work through the ups and downs. We’re really proud of what she accomplished, but even more proud of the athlete and person she has become.”
Sarlis is a highly supportive coach, and role model, to other gymnasts at the club, Korolyova adds.
“She understands what it means to be part of a team and is always willing to encourage the athletes around her,” says Korolyova, while noting that Sarlis in turn has received great support from her teammates, coaches and family. “Hopefully it also inspires some of our younger athletes to see what is possible when you commit to something and continue working toward your goals.”
Following her breakout nationals performance in late May, Sarlis visited the rhythmic gymnastics hotbed of Bulgaria for training during the summer. She says that she’s learned so much from the sport and being involved with her Kanata club that she’s keen to continue pushing to reach her full potential.
“I’m not willing to sit back on it now,” Sarlis underlines. “It’s almost there and I just want to see it through all the way. You only have a portion of your life to do it, and I just want to give it my all.”