Junior rowers get two sets of gold in B.C. Summer Games

Double Gold for Vernon Junior Rowers in B.C. Summer Games
(Burnaby, British Columbia – July 21, 2024) Aida Mills and Sierra Munroe were awarded a B.C. Summer Games rowing event gold medal for their race in U19 Women’s Pair, and then joined a U19 Mixed Scull crew, and were the first to finish again. Last weekend, over 60 rowers from across the province competed at Burnaby Lake, the rowing venue for the B.C. Summer Games in Maple Ridge. The crews raced over a straight 1000-meter course, with notable success from Zone 2 (Okanagan / Thompson) athletes. Rising stars in junior rowing, Aida Mills (Salmon Arm) and Sierra Munroe (Vernon) excelled in the challenging Pair event. In this boat, each crew member has only one blade, requiring perfect
synchronization just to keep the shell moving straight. Despite having slightly over a month to train together, they embraced the challenge and mastered the skill. Their 4:10 finish on Saturday earned them gold, ahead of Cora Van Vliet and Amy Milne (both from Vernon) at 4:18, and Sam Kronis and Rowan Denis (both from Nanaimo) at 4:22. On Sunday, Mills and Munroe joined Jonas Masys (Vernon) and Oleksii Lupan (Kelowna) in a Mixed Quad and won another gold medal with a time of 3:14, outpacing the next competitor by nearly 10 seconds. This was the first time this crew had rowed together. The U17 Mixed Quad crew, consisting of Leo Middelkamp, Peter Masys, Autumn Prediger, and Louisa Van Vliet (all from Vernon), earned a bronze with a time of 3:34. Peter Masys also joined the ranks of double-medalists with a silver in the U17 Men’s Single.
These junior athletes are already attracting attention from university rowing team recruiters, once again highlighting Vernon on the provincial rowing map.