Canada's New National Champion – Whitewater Canoe C1M Heads to Prague

Chilliwack, BC - Limelight is ecstatic to announce that Julian Potvin-Bernal paddled to victory as he was named National Champion in the men's solo whitewater canoe (C1M) after a difficult session. This is the second National Champion title he has earned in his career, the first being 2008.

This year's competition proved to be most difficult as Julian explained,“The Chilliwack river was higher than usual for this time of year due to wetter than normal weather in BC (although the sun was shining for the whole week we were here). This made the water significantly bigger and more difficult. In addition, the course for today's race was extremely challenging and many athletes had trouble. The rules for the National Championships were adjusted this year with the result that only the second of two runs counted for the national title. This was to make it comparable to an international race where the 1 run final is where the race winner is declared.”

Julian reported that he had trouble on his first run. He had a great start but in an attempt to surf across the river he missed the 16th gate, which added a 50-second penalty to his time. On his second run, he had a difficult time near the top of the course but was able to make each gate cleanly delivering him a gold. Julian also came first in a Downriver Classic race.

Potvin-Bernal isn't a sit-at-home kind of kid. At age 18 he enrolled in the University of Ottawa's Mechanical Engineering program after completing home schooling. This spring he completed yet another year with straight “A”s – Julian will only say he's in the top 5% in his class. He has been serving an informal internship at DW Product Development this summer. He maintains a daily training schedule where he paddles either the Ottawa or Valleyfield, Quebec whitewater courses.

Also, Sindy Audet of Valleyfield, QC (another member of the National Team in C1W) won gold in her category.

Limelight originally sponsored Julian's sister Sara for her bid for the Beijing Olympics when a shoulder injury in the pre-Olympic race and follow up surgery removed her from competition. Julian has requested help with his chance at the Olympics and Limelight was happy to jump in. Amateur sports is very difficult, yet, Canada wants medals. At the 2010 Winter Olympics the pride that Canada demonstated was the best yet but still the financial support for these young athletes remains unanswered. 

If you would like an opportunity to help support Julian's bid for gold please feel free to contact Limelight direct at change@limelight.org.