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Youth lead Canada to Championship title

Local kayakers made waves on the international canoe slalom circuit leading Canada to a Pan American championship title in Union de Tula, Mexico in January.

Local kayakers made waves on the international canoe slalom circuit leading Canada to a Pan American championship title in Union de Tula, Mexico in January.

Jessica Groeneveld, Daniel Purcell, and Thomas Purcell, all brought home gold medals in their first competition of the season.

Jessica defended her Pan American champion title in the K1, defeating her top competitor, the US representative Ashlee Nee, who had won both the qualifier and the semi final.

Jessica also earned herself a gold after taking an open Canadian spot in the C1, a category that she trains for but does not normally race.

“The entire experience of being in Mexico was overwhelming. I wanted to soak up the culture and the experience but wanted to stay focused for the race,” said Jessica.

Daniel and Thomas race in a two-man canoe in the Mens’ C2 class, and won over the second place Brazilian team by an outstanding eight seconds, which in slalom is quite a bit, said Daniel.

Daniel said that as they had four races in one day they tried not to burn themselves out but ended up really pleased with their results winning every race including the heats and semi-finals.

“One small error by me in the second last gate cost us a minor two second penalty but other than that we couldn’t have asked for a better race day.”

Thomas also raced in the C1 class finishing fourth and just missing the podium.

Despite being in a part of the country that is not typically a tourist destination and where security was required due to concerns over violence in Mexico, the athletes all stayed focused and said they felt the experience was really worthwhile.

The highlight of the trip for Jessica was the opening ceremonies where the city put on a show with music, traditional Mexican dances, and fireworks.

“It seemed like the entire city came out to welcome us. The streets were lined shoulder to shoulder with people cheering for us. It made us feel like celebrities,” said Jessica.

Overall the experience was a victory for the Canadian team and the local athletes.

“The event was a great success full of great results for Canada, taking home the nation’s cup,” said Daniel.

Jessica, Daniel, and Thomas will all now be heading to Australia to begin winter training with the Canadian national team.

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