U23 men's single sculler Michael Braithwaite of Duncan, B.C., provided the highlight of the day for the Canadian team at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
Germany won the U23 single in 7:00.35, the Netherlands was second in 7:02.31 and Canada crossed the line in 7:03.57, edging out Slovenia (7:03.85).
"I knew going into my final that it was going to be a tight race and I'm really happy that I was able to step up and execute," said Braithwaite. "All in all this was a great step in the right direction."
Not only was this the first medal internationally for the University of Toronto rower; it was his first major international regatta. "I'm very grateful for all the support that I received from my friends and family back home," he said today.
"Mike raced with a huge heart to seal the bronze medal," said Rowing Canada Aviron Director of High Performance Peter Cookson Canada had three other boats in the A finals. "For our other finalists, it was a difficult day. On the day, we were just lacking that top-end speed to stay with the leaders. It was a good lesson for us."
The Canadian men's four, a boat of experienced rowers who nailed their preliminary races, was fourth despite a strong start. New Zealand won in 5:54.49, the U.S. picked up silver (5:55.80), and Germany followed in 5:56.22, just ahead of Canada in 5:56.49. Romania and Slovenia rounded out the field, but were not part of the medal contest.
The Canadian U23 men's four is Will Crothers (Kingston, ON), Anthony Jacob (Vancouver, B.C), Max Lang (Lumby, BC), and Conlin McCabe (Brockville, ON).
The U23 women's eight was also fourth overall - medal winners were Great Britain in 6:20.71; the U.S. in 6:21.80 and Poland (6:23.16). Canada followed in 6:28.67.
The U23 women's eight is Rosie deBoef (Victoria, BC), Ashton Brown (Calgary, AB), Lauren Hutchins (North Vancouver, B.C.), Kim Kennedy (Calgary, AB), Natalie Mastracci (Thorold, ON), Kira O'Sullivan (Victoria B.C.), Caitlin Trumble (Calgary, AB/Perth, Australia), Lauren Wilkinson (Vancouver, B.C.) and Kristen Kit (coxswain) of St. Catharines, Ont.
The Canadian U23 men's eight was fifth in 5:37.74. Poland won in 5:32.77, Germany got the silver in 5:34.11 and Great Britain was third in 5:35.25 in this event. Last year, Canada picked up a silver the U23 eight.
The 2009 U23 eight is Richard Anderson (Victoria, B.C.), Spencer Crowley (Lantzville, B.C.), Stephen Connolly (Calgary, Alberta), Will Dean (Kelowna, B.C.), Matt Evans (London, UK), Josh Morris (Victoria, B.C.), Blake Parsons (Toronto, ON), Geoff Roth (Edmonton, AB), and cox Ronan Sabo-Walsh (Vancouver, B.C).
In the B finals, the lightweight women's double (Kathryn Twyman of Edmonton, Alta., and Rebecca Gregory of Brampton, Ont.) was third in 7:28.65 to end up ninth overall.
The lightweight women's single (Ricki Baxter of Burnaby, B.C.) was also ninth overall after coming third in the B final in 8:07.35.
Canada was fifth in the lightweight men's four B final in 6:09.82 - ranking 11th overall. This boat included Rares Crisan (Mississauga Ont.), Travis King (Grimsby, Ont.), Ryan Meyers (Kingston Ont.), and Jeff Overington (Kingston Ont.).