The tough competition of the Male C2 500m canoe race was hardly over before the competitors were talking and laughing together on the shore of Bedford Channel.
The two teams, Noah Said and Quinn Thompson of Zone 3 and Arjun Senanyake and Ydris Hunter of Zone 5, exchanged high fives and talked over the race.
The Zone 5 paddlers came out ahead, having navigated a tricky turn faster.
“It’s really hard,” Senanyake said of the course.
“We practiced once yesterday,” said Said.
Hunter added that they had about an hour for that practice.
The rowers and paddlers on Bedford Channel are facing multiple races, often in different categories, each day of the BC Summer Games.
By mid-afternoon Friday, they were getting tired.
“We had to wake up really early in the morning,” said Said.
“We got to the food court and we were the first to get there,” said Hunter.
All the paddlers said they enjoyed the challenge of the sport.
“Cutting through the water is just amazing,” said Hunter.
“Just standing up is a challenge,” said Thompson.
Matthew Claxton
Black Press
