In terms of the sports development cycle, Rio 2016 is already over and has been for a long time. Those athletes are selected and getting ready for the five-ring circus next month. The development cycle has already turned to Tokyo 2020 and beyond to 2024.
Victoria-based Rowing sa国际传媒 has named its U-23 team for the world championships Aug. 21-28 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In Olympic years, the world championships feature junior and U-23 rowers, and non-Olympic senior pullers.
Named to the sa国际传媒 U-23 squad was Patrick Keane of the UVic Vikes in lightweight men鈥檚 quad; Jessica Stewart of Victoria City and Morgan Cathrea from Vic City and the Washington State Cougars in the women鈥檚 four; Martin Barakso of Nanaimo, a Brentwood College grad rowing at Princeton, in the men鈥檚 four; Luc Brodeur of UVic in the men鈥檚 quad sculls; Jacob Barker and Sam Goertz from Vic City in the men鈥檚 coxed four; and Layla Balooch of UVic in the women鈥檚 singles.
Senior team World Cup silver medallist Kate Sauks of Vic City will race the lightweight women鈥檚 singles, a non-Olympic event.
Also selected has been the Canadian team to the world university championships Sept. 2-4 in Poznan, Poland. The squad includes Patricia Mara of Camosun College and UVic Vikes Rebecca Zimmerman, Olivia King, Mark Davies and Adam Donaldson.
Meanwhile, most of the Canadian Olympic rowers have departed Elk Lake for the pre-Rio staging camp in Toronto. The last to leave will be Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee, both from Victoria, and podium threats in the women鈥檚 lightweight double.
鈥淲e put in a big block of training 鈥� and now are starting the final phase of our preparation for Rio,鈥� said Obee. 鈥淭he volume is decreasing and the intensity is increasing. It is my favourite part of training 鈥� it is when we get to shed the fatigue and see the hard work manifest into speed.鈥�
