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Vernon rower coaxes double gold at provincials

Elena Mastye became a B.C. champion in two events during the competition in Burnaby

Vernon local Elena Masyte is a double provincial rowing champion. 

Masyte, currently a student at the University of Victoria, won golds in two categories at the B.C. Provincial Championships, hosted in Burnaby from July 12-14.

The championship featured 20 clubs and 256 crews from across the province and the United States. 

An alumni of the Vernon Rowing and Dragon Boat Club (VRDBC), Masyte won gold in the women''s open single with a time of nine minutes and three seconds. Less than an hour later, she repeated the feat in the women's open double, alongside Sophia Regosa, finishing with a scintillating eight minutes and 27 seconds. 

Composite crews from Vernon and Shuswap also delivered strong performances. Sierra Munroe of Vernon and Aida Mills of Salmon Arm secured silver in the Women’s U19 Pair with a time of nine minutes even, only bested by a national team crew.

The men’s crew, featuring Jonas Masys and Cole O’Connor from Vernon, Ian VanBergeyk from Salmon Arm, and Oleksii Lupan from Kelowna, captured bronze in the U19 Men’s Quad, Jonah narrowly missed a bronze in his U109 men's single, clocking in at eight minutes and 11 seconds, good for fourth. 

Peter Ely (Salmon Arm), Ryland Holmgren, Leo Middelkamp, and Peter Masys (all three from Vernon), gained valuable experience in high-profile racing, finishing third in the U17 quadruple sculls C final.

Many of these junior athletes are representing Zone Two in the B.C. Summer Games underway July 17-21 in Maple Ridge. 

For more information on the VRDBC, visit vernonrowinganddragonboat.com.



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