Doris Corbin | Sportscene - Nestled in the mountains in sunny Puerto Rico is a man-made reservoir called Lake Cerrillos which is flanked by rainforest-type vegetation that hugs the shoreline. The only thing warmer than the temperatures which soared in to the high 90 degree Fahrenheit range was the warmth generated by the friendly local volunteers who made athletes, coaches and officials feel welcome.

The  Opening Ceremonies for this three-day Pan American Championships for Sprint Flatwater  was held in Ponce. and featured water ballet and gymnastic  demonstrations as well as a Parade of athletes from the 12 participating countries. Over 140 athletes participated from North , South and Central America including Barbados and Guadalupe who were there for the first time.

Many athletes commented that the biggest distraction for them was the natural beauty that surrounded the world-class race course.  Victor Ruiz , HOC Chairman and Member of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee feels that the venue would be an excellent locale  for future  training camps.

Paddlers from Mexico  and Canada dominated the first two days of competition. Canada, however, won most of the races on the last day of competition finishing with 36 medals while Mexico had 27.

Madeleine Schmidt of Ottawa, Ontario led the charge for Canada winning 3 gold medals in Jr. Women’s K1 500m, K1 200m and K15000m.

Hannah MacIntosh  of Dartmouth Nova Scotia added 3 Silver medals for Canada in Jr. Women C1 500m, C1 200m and C1 5000m.

Senior paddler Karina Morales of Mexico collected 3 Gold Medals as well; in K2 500m, K1500m. and K4 500m.

Congratulations to hometown favorites, Melissa Reyes and Marciecarmen Rivera who brought home Bronze medals for Puerto Rico in Women’s K2 500m Senior event.

Many of these young athletes have the 2015 Pan Am Games in Canada in their game plan and we wish them well on their future competitions.

Event website: http://copaconline.com/sprint-pan-am-championships

For more photos click here.

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