Rosie Velisek and Jesse Harold both won hometown medals during the Nelson Regatta last Saturday.
Velisek took gold in the women’s junior singles race, while Harold won the men’s junior singles event. The pair also teamed up to take the mixed junior doubles gold.
Avery Bruin and Leonie Mathes also finished sixth in women’s junior doubles.
The event had seven clubs participating on Kootenay Lake, including teams from Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Kelowna, Vernon, Edmonton, and Leduc, Alta.
Also on hand was Canadian Olympian Don Arnold, who won Canada’s first Olympic rowing gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Games with in fours with teammate and Nelson native Lorne Loomer. The event also included the original audio recording of the Melbourne final.
The Nelson Rowing Club created the Lorne Loomer rowing program after he passed away in 2017. We have free try-out sessions every Wednesday and Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with Harold as our certified Learn to Row coach.
A special thanks to Kim Shea who orchestrated the regatta.
Related:
The quiet engine: remembering Olympian and artist Lorne Loomer