SILVER LAKE CREWS MEDAL AT ONTARIO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Local rowers captured silver and bronze medals as four out of six entries from the Silver Lake Rowing Club advanced to the finals at the Ontario Championships held in Welland last weekend.
On Saturday, Caleb McCleary and Zak Azzopardi won their heat in the Under 19 Men Double to advance to the final where they narrowly missed gold in a photo finish. On Sunday, Zak Azzopardi rowed up in his age category to combine with Tyler Wilson in the Under 23 Lightweight Men Double. Wilson and Azzopardi advanced to the final by winning their heat. In the final, they won bronze in a race fought from start to finish. Only three seconds separated the first three boats at the finish.
Also on Sunday, Caleb McCleary won his heat in the Under 19 Men Single event. McCleary had the third fastest time overall in the heats even though he was unchallenged throughout his heat. Unfortunately, McCleary had to scratch from the final due to injury. According to Head Coach Sue Fairley “Caleb was wanting to see what he could do in the final but we had to think longer term. Hopefully, he’ll get another chance to show his potential at the Royal Canadian Henley.”
Eryk Taylor advanced to the final in the Under 17 Men Single and placed fifth in the final. Taylor also teamed up with Josh Azzopardi in the U17 Men Double event where they placed third in their heat but failed to advance. Robyn Millson and Frankie Martin-Dodds placed third in their heat in the U19 Women Double.
According to Fairley “Our rowers showed this weekend they are contenders amongst the best from across Ontario. But the competition is going to be a lot stronger at the Royal Canadian Henley where crews come from across North America to compete. So, we’ve got less than a week to find ways to become just that much faster if we want to get to the finals there.”
Picture front row from left to right: Josh Azzopardi, Franki Martin-Dodds, Robin Millson, Caleb McCleary, Sue Fairley
Back row from left to right: Jim Dover, Tyler Wilson, Samy Fairley, Zac Azzopardi, Eryk Taylor, Dan Beaver
The Silver Lake Rowing Club was established in 1999 to promote the sport of rowing in Norfolk County and surrounding communities. For information regarding Club rowing contact Susan Fairley Head Coach (519-583-0461). To find out more about the Silver Lake Rowing Club, call Jim Dover President, Silver Lake Rowing Club (905-318-5932 ext. 224 / 519-426-5677) or visit our web site at: www.silverlakerowingclub.com.