As a tailwind whipped down the course, so did Canada's top rowing athletes at the RBC National Rowing Championships at the Welland International Flatwater Centre (WIFC) in Welland, Ontario, this weekend.
"I really would like to commend the officials, organizing committee and the WIFC for running a high-quality event in trying conditions," said Peter Cookson, Rowing Canada Aviron High Performance Director. "The finals produced some excellent racing today and there were a lot of strong performances from both our senior and development athletes."
A mix of veterans and up-and-comers reached the podium today.
In the women's pair event, Olympians Darcy Marquardt of Richmond, B.C. and Andreanne Morin of Montreal, Que. won in a time of 7:16.60 (over 2000 metres).
"It's nice to win the gold for myself, but I think it's also very encouraging for the team as a whole to have close times," said team veteran Morin of the small-boat regatta. "We definitely had conditions to handle beyond just aiming for a good performance, so I'm glad to have this win and the regatta completed."
Janine Hanson of Winnipeg, Man., also a 2008 Olympian, and 2011 Under 23 gold medalist Lauren Wilkinson of North Vancouver, B.C. were second in the women's pair in 7:18.24. They were followed by Ashley Brzozowicz of London, Ont., and Krista Guloien of Port Moody, B.C. in 7:19.87.
In the men's pair, 2008 Olympic silver medalists Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C. and David Calder of Victoria were first in 6:35.54, followed by Will Crothers of Kingston, Ont. and Gabe Bergen of 100 Mile House, B.C. in 6:41.24. Olympic gold medalist (men's eight) Andrew Byrnes of Toronto, Ont. and 2011 men's eight member Jeremiah Brown of Cobourg, Ont., were third in 6:45.23.
"We got a huge monkey off our backs this weekend by putting together a strong regatta and coming out on top of a very deep and respectable field," explained Calder, who rowed in his first Olympics back in 2000. "The outcome emphasizes that we are doing the right work to be best prepared for when it matters most - the London Olympic Games."
Patricia Obee of Victoria, won both the senior and under 23 categories of the women's lightweight single - her time was 7:53.11. Obee is a 2011 World silver medalist with Lindsay Jennerich, also of Victoria, who finished second today in 7:55.66. Olympic bronze medalist (2008, lightweight women's double) Tracy Cameron of Shubenacadie, NS, was third in 7:59.82.
"It's really motivating for the next year," said Obee, 20, who will now be one of the youngest team members entering the Olympic training camp. "Any result would have been pretty motivating to train harder, but this helps to know I'm training correctly and moving in the right direction."
Hometown favourite Kerry Shaffer of Welland put on a show for the crowd in the women's single, edging out Pan Am double medalist Isolda Penney of Kingston, Ontario. Up-and-comer Carling Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont., took third and top honours in the under 23 category. Shaffer crossed the line in 7:44.45, closely followed by Penney in 7:44.50 and Zeeman's time was 7:56.61.
Mike Wilkinson of North Vancouver won the men's single in 7:06.92, followed by Fraser Berkhout of St. Catharines in 7:10.53, and Michael Braithwaite of Duncan, B.C. in 7:14.19. Wilkinson and Berkhout rowed in the men's double at the World Championships this year, qualifying the boat for the 2012 Olympics. Guelph's Adam Rabalski won the Under 23 category of the men's single, and fifth overall.
In the lightweight men's single, Morgan Jarvis (Winnipeg, Man.) won in 7:09.22, Cam Sylvester of Caledon, Ont., was second in 7:12.13, followed by Nick Pratt of Kingston, Ont. in 7:14.20.
"It was pretty rough out there," said Jarvis. "I just wanted to get out in front as far as I could in the first half of the race, and then just hang in there and not catch too many waves."
In the lightweight men's pair, Eric Woelfl of St. Catharines, Ont. and Derek Vinge of Fernie, B.C., (6:52.42) edged out local brothers Ben and Jacob Cushnie (6:52.94), followed by Graham Schenck of St. Catharines, Ont. and Marc Addison of Vancouver in bronze position (6:53.94). Schenck and Addison were also the under 23 winners.
"It's been fun rowing with Eric (who was a Pan Am team mate)," said Vinge. "This race was a good time - we were excited for it - there was a big tailwind, so were hoping for a fast time, but it was a little bit windier than we thought. We caught a lot of the tops of the waves, but we finished, and then had a little bit of a flip!"
The lightweight pair were removed safely from the waterway, and, overall, all races were completed ahead of schedule.
Performances at the NRCs are used as one factor in determining the Olympic training camp, as well as for development purposes to determine future training camps and teams.
Medals were presented to juniors, under-23s and senior athletes by Rowing Canada Aviron President Dr. Michael Murphy, RBC Royal Bank representatives and members of the Walker family, who donate the annual prize money to the regatta.