WAVERLEY: A Cheema athlete has been announced as among two in Canada who will wear the Maple Leaf and compete in the PaddleALL Events at the Sprint Canoe World Championships at the end of August in Germany.
Cheema’s Matthew Casey and Rachel Cohen, from Balmy Beach Canoe Club, have been selected to the World Championship team based on their winning K1-200m performances at the Canada Cup East event in Ottawa, Ontario.
PaddleALL programming in our Canoe Kayak community in Canada has, for nearly two decades, encouraged athletes with intellectual disabilities to train and race to be their best in sport.
Last year, the International Canoe Federation (ICF) in partnership with Canoe Kayak Canada hosted its first-ever PaddleALL (Intellectual Impairment II) exhibition races at a world championship event.
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Canoe Kayak Canada continues to work with its partners and members across Canada to push for Special Olympics Canada recognition and to have the opportunity to send our Canadian athletes to the Special Olympics World Games.
“Rachel and Matthew are strong additions to our team heading into the World Championships,” said Ian Mortimer, Chief Technical Officer of Canoe Kayak Canada. “In both the K1 and Unified Events we will be targeting podium performances, which is a reflection of not just these two athletes, but the strength of our PaddleALL community across Canada, who deserve this chance to compete on the world stage.
Hailing from Fall River, Nova Scotia, Matthew Casey has been paddling at the Cheema Canoe Club for over 11 years now and also brings a wealth of sports experience, including hockey, golf and cycling.
Qualifying for this World Championship team holds extra meaning for Matthew as he was sidelined by a broken arm at the 2022 World Championships, preventing him from competing on home waters.
Off the water, Casey loves volunteering his time with the PaddleALL program, supporting the next generation of athletes.
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Cohen started her paddling journey in 2017 at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club in Toronto, Ontario. Capitalizing on her multi-sport experience, Rachel found swift enjoyment and success in the kayak, winning a silver medal at the 2022 ICF World Championships exhibition race.
As captain of her swim team, Rachel has also been selected to compete in the Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games in 2024. She was also inducted into the Toronto Hall of Honour in 2022 as the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year.
Cohen and Casey will compete amongst the world’s best sprint paddlers at the ICF Canoe and Para Canoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany from August 23-27.
