Avalon Wasteneys from Campbell River has rowing in her blood.
Both of her parents rowed, as did some of her aunts and uncles. Her mom and aunt even went to the Olympics for rowing in the 1980s.
But Avalon is the one who brought home the gold medal.
On Thursday, she and her teammates won the women’s 8 rowing race in Tokyo. They even beat the American team, which has won every major event for the last 11 years. This would have been the Americans’ fourth Olympic gold medal in a row.
But instead, that medal is ours.
It’s the first time Canada has won gold in this event since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The Canadian team launched out of the gate and held onto first place for the whole race. It was close, though. They beat the second-place New Zealand team by less than a second.
The Chinese team earned the bronze medal.
This year’s national team is made up of Lisa Roman, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Christine Roper, Andrea Proske, Susanne Grainger, Madison Mailey, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys, and coxswain (pilot) Kristen Kit.
They train at Elk Lake, about 15 minutes north of Victoria.
So far, all of Canada’s Olympic medals have been won by women.
