After medalling for Canada in Michigan, 17-year-old Kennedy Bartel barely got a break before racing again in the Welland Canal and now has her sights set on one of Canada’s most competitive junior regattas.
Bartel took gold in the women’s quad and silver in the mixed eight at the International Regatta Challenge in Ypsilanti, Mich., on July 18 and 19.
Just two days later, she returned to the water in Welland for the Row Ontario Championships, winning the U19 double and eight.
Bartel’s path into rowing began with her family. Her father, Paul, coaches at the club; her brother has rowed there for nearly a decade, and her cousins are rowers too.
“I’ve been associated with rowing and the Rowing Club for basically my entire life.”
Despite competing in 17 races in two days, Bartlet is already back in training for the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, set to begin Aug. 3 in St. Catharines.
The Henley has been based in St. Catherines since 1903 and attracts thousands of athletes from across the world.
“We have a lot of entries from all over North America, some from South America, and some clubs from Australia and New Zealand, so I know the competition will be pretty stiff.”
Bartel was selected by Rowing Canada to join the U19 development team for the Michigan regatta, which featured 12 national squads and five events.
She entered four and, despite modest expectations, managed to reach the A-final and win gold.
“When we finally found out our results and figured out we were going to be in the A-finals, it gave me a huge confidence boost—and crossing the line first felt unreal.”
She and teammates Isabella Essig, Karina Biktimirova and Heidi Wall surged to victory in the women’s quad. She also placed fifth in the women’s pair and sixth in the coxed four.
“It was an amazing feeling just because I’ve been trying to make some sort of team to represent Canada for a long time,” said Bartel.
The St. Catharines Rowing Club athlete said her clubmates welcomed her back with open arms.
“The amount of people who came up to me or texted congrats was amazing and it showed me how much the community cares,” said Bartel.
Much of her progress this season came down to the steady support of coaches Michelle Fisher and Liz Harold, she said.
Now, her focus is on finishing strong and keeping pace through one of the busiest stretches of her rowing career.
“I was definitely tired, but you always have to pull through for your crew,” she said.
With Henley on the horizon, Bartel isn’t backing down, she said — she’s in full swing and hitting her stride.
