It might be the Paris Olympic Games that grab all the headlines over the next couple of weeks, but there is another competition that’s about to start that will feature athletes who may become Canada’s Olympians of the future.
This competition is the Ontario Summer Games, which get under way this week and two members of the South Niagara Canoe Club will be there.
Kathleen Lowry, 14, from Fonthill, and Jonothan Barrett, 16, of Welland, will be competing in canoe and kayak events respectively. Both got their start on the water, learning their sports at the club’s summer camp on the Welland Recreational Canal. Now they are back at the camp helping other kids as they prepare for the Games, running from Aug. 1-4 in London, Ont., where the duo will be among 3,500 athletes between the ages of 12 and 18 taking part.
Lowry comes from a family that’s committed to the paddling sports. Her mom, Michelle, is vice-Commodore, Canoe and Kayak, for the SNCC, and her sister, Sarah, is involved in kayaking and is a coach at the club.
“I started with the kids camp,” Lowry said. “I loved it and so I tried the developmental program. I've grown from there.”
And rather than follow in her sister’s footsteps, Lowry chose canoeing.
“There were two people at our club that did it,” she said. “I always thought it was cool, so I wanted to try it.”
In addition to her training for the club, Lowry also rows at E.L. Crossley Secondary School.
For his part, Barrett first attended a camp back when he was just six years old. Then his uncle introduced him to kayaking recreationally.
“I just fell in love with it, and I slowly developed a passion for it,” Barrett said. “It was just for fun at first. Yeah. And then I just got to the point where, like, I just started doing it competitively.”
It can also be more demanding physically, Barrett added.
“Canoeing is more demanding on the legs because you're kneeling and lunging for the whole time,” he said.
“I don't know how you guys do that,” he added with a chuckle and looking in Lowry’s direction.
His reasons for choosing kayaking over canoe, meanwhile, are straightforward.
“I just enjoy going fast to be honest,” he said. “I enjoy just beating everybody in the race. That's the big thing – winning!”
Lowry, meanwhile, said it’s not easy to qualify for the Games.
“It takes a lot of training,” she said.
That work may include, in Lowry’s case, training for three days a week.
“And then I have rowing every day,” she said.
As for Barrett, he can be found out on the water nine times a week.
“Well, 11 times, including the gym,” he said.
Lowry wound up qualifying for the games by placing third in the C-1 event at a qualifying regatta in Richmond Hill, Ont. Barrett, meanwhile, qualified with a top-5 finish at the Ontario team trials. Both events were in June.
The competition – and teammates – won’t be unfamiliar to the pair.
“We will be facing the same people that we would compete with at the Ontario level,” Barrett said.
“And then we're also competing with people that we usually paddle against,” Lowry added. “So that's pretty cool.”
Ozturk Kuru, SNCC’s head coach, said the pair have gotten to this point through hard work and a year-round dedication to the sport. He is not surprised to hear from them that both think their chances to come back from London with medals around their necks are high.
“I can say I believe them because they worked hard all wintertime,” Kuru said. “They are ready for this. They are going to do with some team boats and different distances so I'm sure they're going to get some medals.”
For his part, Barrett figures his best chances will come in the shorter distance races.
“We've been doing a lot of sprints and threshold works to get the speed level higher, so my endurance is probably not all there.
Kathleen, meanwhile, is looking to the C-1 500-metre race a good chance for her to earn a medal.
“It’s the one I've done the most,” she said. “I had the most experience with it. I feel more confident.”
More information on the Ontario Summer Games can be found at london2024.ca.