Coldstream stand-up paddleboarder Lina Augaitis travelled to Peru to compete in the PanAm Surfing Games last weekend.
She was the only Canadian to medal at the competition, solidifying a spot at the PanAm Games in Peru next summer.
Over 270 athletes from 20 countries across the Americas participated in the competition.
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Organized by the Pan American Surf Association, and taking place in Lima, Peru earlier this month, events included: Shortboard, Longboard, SUP Surfing, and SUP Tech Racing for both men and women. Augaitis was one of 24 females to participate — she had qualified for the event by winning the Canadian Nationals last year.
She earned the bronze medal in the 5km SUP Technical Women’s Race with a time of 28:11 minutes. USA’s April Zilg won the Gold Medal with a time of 27:52 minutes and Puerto Rico’s Maricarmen Rivera won silver with 28:08.
“Now that I’ve officially qualified, the games are my next main focus,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll get to compete and do a couple more big races to train before that to prepare for that because I want to win gold at the Pan American Games. It’s a really exciting opportunity for the sport and I really just want to show Canadians that we have a future in the sport and encourage them to go try paddleboarding.”
The Pan American Games are the second-biggest summer athletic event, second to the Olympics, and 2019 will be the first year that a SUP competition will take place as part of the games.
“It’s pretty amazing to qualify and be part of the first games ever for the sport,” said Augaitis. “It’s also a big step for the sport and to hopefully get stand-up paddleboarding into the 2024 Olympics.”
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