Two weeks ago Levi Rasmussen, Patrick Dann and Elias del Valle swept the podium in the under-18 K1 sprint at the canoe/kayak provincial championships in Burnaby.

That same week, they were spurred on by the Olympics, when they stayed up past 4 a.m. to cheer on Canadian paddlers Mark Oldershaw and Adam van Koeverden, who each won medals.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a good time for competitive kayaking,B次元官网网址� Rasmussen said.

As a result of their success at provincials, all three are headed to the 2012 Canadian Sprint CanoeKayak Championships in Dartmouth, N.S., from Aug. 22 to 25.

Dann led the way at provincials, winning the menB次元官网网址檚 under-18 K1, with del Valle and Rasmussen finishing second and third, respectively, in that category. Dann and del Valle paired up for a K2 win too. ItB次元官网网址檚 not yet known just how many events each will race at Dartmouth, though theyB次元官网网址檒l all be in the K1 200-, 500- and 1,000-metre sprints for sure.

B次元官网网址淩ight now IB次元官网网址檓 really happy just to be going to nationals,B次元官网网址� Rasmussen said.

All three will start Grade 12 at Vic High in three weeks. ThatB次元官网网址檚 where Dann and del Valle, whoB次元官网网址檝e both raced over five years, convinced Rasmussen to come out to the Gorge Rowing and Paddling Centre to take up the sport last year.