RBC National Rowing Championships - Finals Summary

The final races of the RBC National Rowing Championships (Sept. 24 to 26) were held today on Elk Lake in Victoria, B.C.

Senior medal winners included Kerry Maher Shaffer of Welland, ON, in the women's single in 7:37.77, followed by Audra Vair of Creemore, ON, in 7:40.70 and Romina Stefancic of Victoria in 7:44.98.

"It felt great out there - I just went out and knew it was going to be tough, but all the preparation and support I've had contributed to the win today," said Maher Shaffer, who trained on her own in Florida before returning to her hometown to prepare for this regatta. "I got an idea of my potential today, and I'm going to take it one step at a time and see where it goes."

World University medalist and 2009 World Under-23 bronze medalist Michael Braithwaite of Duncan, B.C. won the men's single event in 6:49.75; followed by Jerry Brown of Victoria in 6:52.70, and Kevin Kowalyk of Winnipeg, MB, in 6:54.89 picking up the bronze medal.

Cristin McCarty of Saskatoon, SK, and Natalie Mastracci of St. Catharines, ON, won the women's pair in 7:11.47. "From our first race (the heat) to the third race of this regatta, we just kept building on what we had done," said McCarty, who trains in London, Ontario, and competed on Elk Lake for the first time this weekend. "We finished with our strongest race and we're happy with the result."

Carolyn Ganes of Saskatoon, SK, and Sandra Kisil of Ancaster, ON, were second in 7:13.75. 2008 Olympian Sarah Bonikowsky of Orangeville, ON, rowing with Stephanie Morrison of Nelson, BC, finished third in the women's pair in 7:14.73.

Olympic silver medalist (2008 men's pair) Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C. and former National Team rower Rob Weitemeyer of Port Coquitlam, B.C. won the men's pair in 6:27.61. Will Dean of Kelowna and Mike Wilkinson of Vancouver were second in in 6:28.59. Josh Morris of Victoria and Dan Casaca of Mississauga, ON, were third in 6:34.42.

"It was a whole lot of fun to be back racing," said gold medalist Weitemeyer, who also rowed for 2010 Boat Race winner Cambridge University in England. "I hadn't raced with Scott as part of the National Team, so it was great to just get out there and to win was a real bonus."

Olympic bronze medalist (2008 lightweight men's four) Mike Lewis of Victoria and Morgan Jarvis of Winnipeg, MB, won the lightweight men's pair in 6:26.92. "We were pushed by the other pairs. While it would have been nice to be easy, it wasn't and that shows that there is some depth in the lightweight program," said Lewis, also a member of the team that will be heading to New Zealand for the World Championships (Oct. 31 to Nov. 07).

The silver medal in this event went to Tim Myers of Penticton, B.C and Terry McKall of Edmonton, AB, in 6:30.63; and Matt Jensen of Innerkip, ON, and John Sasi of North Delta, BC took the bronze in 6:32.78.

Jaclyn Halko of Uxbridge, ON, won the lightweight women's single today in 7:41.02, followed by Katya Herman of Sudbury, ON, in 7:43.05 and then Renae Barks of Regina, SK, in 7:48.14. Barks also won the Under 23 title in this event. Halko was a bronze medalist - in the lightweight women's double with Victoria-based Camosun College student Patrcia Mara - at the World University regatta this summer, representing the University of Western Ontario.

Saul Garcia of Victoria won the lightweight men's single in 6:59.89, followed by Chinese rower Zhongming Huang in 7:03.45 and Andy Guiry was third in 7:05.30.

The National Rowing Championships, this year sponsored by RBC Royal Bank, was hosted by Victoria City Rowing Club in conjunction with Rowing Canada Aviron.

"All the partners came together this weekend for an excellent event," said Rowing Canada Aviron Executive Director Donna Atkinson. "RBC's support really made a difference - the Royal Bank has a tradition of supporting Olympic athletes and it's great to see that extending to events that help create our future champions."

Also today, the B.C. government's Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, Ida Chong, was on hand to announce $100,000 in funding for the Elk Lake Boathouse renewal project. Elk Lake is the site of the Victoria City Rowing Club and a Rowing Canada National Training Centre.

Winners were awarded medals in Senior, Under-23 and Junior categories. Overall winners shared in prize money contributed by a private donor.

Full results (1850m races) at: http://www.vcrc.bc.ca/

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Jackie Skender - Rowing Canada Aviron
519.200.1835 (mobile)