It’s a good thing Finn Wakeling wears a life jacket while paddling his canoe in whitewater rapids.
The 14-year-old Port Moody paddler was swamped with eight medals — six of them gold — at the recent Canadian whitewater canoe and kayak championships in Kanaskis, AB.
Wakeling, who will be attending Gleneagle secondary school in Coquitlam beginning in September, won gold medals in the downriver classic C1, downriver sprint C1, and slalom C1 individual events in his U15 age category. He also earned gold in the downriver classic C2 and slalom C2 mixed events teamed with U18 competitor Isabel Taylor, of Chilliwack, and the pair earned bronze in the downriver spring C2 mixed event.
In the open slalom C2 mixed event that featured teams from all ages competing together, Wakeling and Taylor also earned a bronze medal.
Wakeling has been paddling since he was four years old, when he accompanied his parents on family canoe trips on Pitt Lake. He trains on the Tamiki Rapids at the Chilliwack Centre of Excellence.
