Victoria Lake Canoe Club members represented SA in Italy from July 5 to 9.
These paddlers did well in the South African Sprint Championships and were selected to represent the country at the World Sprint Championships in the U18 and U23 categories.
SA had a team of 11 paddlers at the event.
The event took place at the Unesco heritage site on an Alpine lake.
ALSO READ: Canoeing SA encouraged by marathon results
The championship is an annual regatta where each nation’s best athletes battle it out on the water. There were about 1 400 competitors from 64 countries.
The regatta started with an opening ceremony where all the teams walked through the town with their country’s flags.
The paddlers from Victoria Lake, who were part of the team, were Helen Jansen van Vuuren, Caitlyn Evans and Theo Dreyer.
Esti Olivier, who participated in the Olympics and is preparing for the next Olympics, trained them.
Van Vuuren from Germiston has been a Victoria Lake Canoe Club member since she was 13.
She attended Afrikaanse Hoërskool in Germiston and is studying through Unisa.
She competed in the World Cup events in Hungary and Poland with her K2 partner, Esti Olivier. They made the B final in the 500m in Poland.
Caitlyn Evans, who trains with Team Braven, received her SA colours first for her selection to the SA team for the Olympic Hopes Regatta in the Czech Republic in 2021 and enjoyed the World Sprint Championships in Italy.
ALSO READ: Dusi Canoe Marathon postponed by a month
Dreyer, also part of the sprint team at Germiston Lake, has canoed competitively since the age of seven.
She competed at the Olympic Hopes 2021 and 2022 and made the SA team for Olympic Hopes 2023 in Poland in September.
Paddling is an integral part of Dreyer’s life, and he aspires to make future Sprint and Marathon World Championship teams for SA.
The qualification selection regatta for the Junior World Sprints Championships was the SA Sprints regatta at Victoria Lake Canoe Club in Germiston in April, where athletes across SA competed for a spot on the various SA teams.
