WAVERLEY: The Cheema team proved it could compete with the best in the country, finishing fifth overall at the 2026 Canoe Kayak Canada National Sprint Championships in Ottawa.
After five demanding days of competition at the Rideau Canoe Club, Cheema athletes returned home with an impressive collection of 30 medals — including 11 gold, 10 silver, and nine bronze.
The strong showing placed Cheema fifth in the overall club standings and made it one of just two Atlantic Canadian clubs to crack the top five at the national championships.
PaddleAll took top honours and claimed the 2026 PaddleAll Burgee.
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Cheema’s success came from across the roster, with athletes earning medals in both individual and crew boats.
Leading the way was Emerson Eisener, who collected six medals in canoe events, while Elizabeth Fanok also earned six medals in kayak competition.
Katie Cooper and Megan Thompson each captured five medals in canoe events, while Elle MacKenzie, Ashley Thomas and Chloe Pike each earned four medals.
Thomas competed in kayak events, with MacKenzie and Pike competing in canoe.
Several other Cheema athletes also made their way onto the podium during the five-day national competition.
Evelyn Fennell and Megan McFeters each won three medals in canoe, while Cameron Hall, Nick Lamontagne, Charlotte Cooke, Vienna MacLean and Rory Sno-Wood each earned two canoe medals.
Maria Legge collected two medals in kayak.
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Rounding out the medal winners were Sarah Hughes in kayak and Brady Campbell and Joey Horne in canoe, along with kayakers Xavier Tyler and Matthew Casey, who each earned one medal.
One of the closest races of the championships came in the Mixed U16 C15 event, where the Cheema crew, coxed by Lamontagne, battled Maskwa in a tight finish and came away with the silver medal.
And while the medal count was impressive, Cheema athletes were knocking on the podium door throughout the championships.
The club also recorded seven fourth-place finishes and eight fifth-place finishes.
For Cheema, the results represented a successful week against some of the strongest paddlers and clubs in the country.
