Six seconds made a world of difference for Kennedy Bartel and her rowing partner at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

Pushing hard last Thursday, the Niagara-on-the-Lake rower and her teammate, Isabella Essig, crossed the finish line in the women’s under-17 doubles race, beating five other teams and earning gold in St. Catharines.

The world-famous regatta, which ran July 30 to Aug. 4 at the Martindale Pond in St. Catharines, featured more than 100 rowing clubs from across Canada and the United States in dozens of racing events.

Bartel competes as a member of the St. Catharines Rowing Club.

The 16-year-old, who lives in Virgil with her family, scored her first gold in the regatta with a six-second win over rivals from Niagara Falls.

She also helped her club claim second place in both the women’s under-17 eight and cox four races.

This summer’s Royal Canadian Henley Regatta is a celebration of the rowing championship’s 140th anniversary and it was Bartel’s third time racing in it since she started rowing two years ago.

Her gold in the 2,000-metre race was the culmination of two years of practice and training with her rowing club and competing in several competitions each year since 2022 — but never placing first in the Henley championship.

“The feeling crossing the finish line was probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had, just because I’ve been waiting for that moment for so long,” Bartel said.

Her expectations were high for both this race and the eights race, and she felt they could clinch the win in either one.

The St. Catharines club faced plenty of competition during the regatta for the under-17 doubles category, with 63 teams taking part in races from July 30 to Aug. 1.

“I think we knew we could, inevitably, pull out and be on top when it came to the final,” Bartel said.

From the moment everyone left the start, it was an intense race, she said. Bartel and Essig, who are coached by Richard Moreau, fought to get out ahead of the pack.

“The first 1,000 metres of the race, I was just making sure that we were staying out in front and that we maintained our pace,” she said.

Then, at the midway point, the five boats behind them started speeding up. From there, it was all about keeping ahead of the other teams — and keeping their heads.

“It was really hard to stay calm,” Bartel said. “I had to make sure that we stayed out and kept calm, cool and collected.”

As they crossed the 1,500-metre point, the sprint for the finish line was on: their competition was going full steam ahead to catch up. The St. Catharines Rowing Club duo kept pushing.

In the final 250 metres, something came over Bartel.

“I kind of had a little bit of a feeling in my head that we were going to finish up ahead, so I kind of just let out a call during the race, just saying, ‘Go!’ ”

That final push in the home stretch paid off. “We kind of just flew away from every single person in the race.”

Her boat crossed the finish line first, with a time of 8:10.070, beating the Niagara Falls Rowing Club, which took silver with a time of 8:16.030, and the Calgary Rowing Club, with 8:18.050.

For Bartel, it was a moment of “pure joy,” she said.

Before this win, she had come second at Henley four times in prior races and was still looking for “that Henley gold.”

“As we crossed the finish line, all those feelings kind of went away. It was an amazing feeling,” Bartel said.

As the regatta season comes to a close, Bartel said she’s proud of how the year went.

“I’m closing out my U17 chapter being really happy for myself,” she said.

Her family is sharing that joy with her, including her mother, Lesley Bartel, who was at the regatta and said it was a “very proud moment” watching her daughter and Essig win the doubles race.

“She’s amazing, she really is,” Lesley Bartel said of her daughter. “She’s very determined. There’s nothing I can say to her to inspire her: she’s self-motivated.”

For complete results of the regatta, go to henleyregatta.ca.