Rowers from St. Michaels University School stroked their hearts out at the recent Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association championships in St. Catherines, Ont., but one race in particular held a special meaning for the team.

Competing in a brand-new eights boat delivered just in time for the nationals B次元官网网址� and painted with the name of a fallen former teammate, Emily Selwood B次元官网网址� the novice girls crew raced to gold in the 2,000-metre final on June 5. The team dug deep and finished nearly five seconds ahead of a highly rated Branksome Hall crew from Toronto.

An emotional head of SMUS rowing Susanne Walker Curry remarked after the race that they were B次元官网网址渂ringing Emily home.B次元官网网址�

SMUS claimed four gold and five silver at the regatta and qualified for finals in all 11 events entered, an overall performance Walker Curry later called B次元官网网址渕onumental,B次元官网网址� for reasons that included the honouring of Selwood.

The 18-year-old was tragically killed in September 2021 along with a fellow student when they were struck by a vehicle .

B次元官网网址淗er passing really hit us quite hard, because of her connections as a family member at our school, and as a former teammate,B次元官网网址� Walker Curry said. B次元官网网址淪he was a B次元官网网址榣iferB次元官网网址� in our rowing program and had never rowed before Grade 9.B次元官网网址�

Selwood won two silver as a Grade 10 in 2019 in under-17 womenB次元官网网址檚 eights and coxed fours, but with the pandemic cancelling nationals in 2020 and 2021, she and others never got a chance to return.

B次元官网网址淭his was monumental that we were going back to normal,B次元官网网址� Walker Curry said. B次元官网网址淏ut we were also returning with a little extra purpose, carrying athletes on our shoulders who didnB次元官网网址檛 get a chance to compete (in their senior years).B次元官网网址�

The new eights boat, delivered days before the regatta from London, Ont., memorialized Selwood with her name on the side and on her bow seat.

Crewing it to gold were cox Samantha Yee and rowers Marlene Dietrich, Julie Schoch, Claire Lawler, Jenna Melo, Hannah Schmitt, Ava Tan, Sophia Vitrouk and Rowan Williams.

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Other gold medallists from SMUS included the menB次元官网网址檚 novice eights with cox Sydney Sugar and rowers Spencer Peters, Finley Rolfe, William Song, Tiger Zhang, Diego DB次元官网网址橪orm, Xander Lelewski, Malik Salamatian and Ryan So; the menB次元官网网址檚 lightweight novice coxed fours, with cox Jaieme Aubertin and rowers Salamatian, So, Samuel Tang and Oliver Pressello, and the mixed coxless four of Emma Curry, Lily Langtry, Owen Vincent and Markus Muller, who edged the Claremont secondary boat by about a second.

Silver medal crews included the womenB次元官网网址檚 lightweight (63kg) novice coxed four (cox Caroline Tam, Kate LeRoy, Lawler, Schmitt and Sophie Bosenberg); menB次元官网网址檚 junior coxed four (cox Aubertin, Zhang, Rolfe, Peters and Song); womenB次元官网网址檚 novice coxed four (cox Tam, Melo, Tan, Vitrouk and Williams); womenB次元官网网址檚 junior coxed four (cox Jaclyn Chow, Pippa Hlannon, Schoch, Dietrich and Rowan Denis), and womenB次元官网网址檚 junior lightweight (59kg) coxed four (cox Chow, Hlannon, Denis, Maya Achuthan and Bosenberg).

Claremont rowers also collected multiple medals at the regatta, including gold in womenB次元官网网址檚 senior lightweight (63kg) pairs (Tegan Zecher, Katerina Chow); senior menB次元官网网址檚 fours (Gerrit Schaefer, Fabio Geisler, Quinn McCoy, Terence Conor Dillon), and womenB次元官网网址檚 junior coxed fours (cox Callum Dutchak, Tiegan Szulc, Stella Graham, Sophie Schlatter, Zecher)

The silver medal mixed coxless four crew included Dillon, Schlatter, Julia Ottenbreit and Jonathan Turner, while bronze medals went to Schafer and Geisler in senior menB次元官网网址檚 pairs, Carla Steckham and Evelyn Lewis in senior womenB次元官网网址檚 pairs and McCoy in junior menB次元官网网址檚 individual.

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