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Big win for Ladner rower at Royal Canadian Henley

Elijah Brown part of U17 men's quad that came together just two months before the championships
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Ladner's Eljiah Brown was a member of the Royal Canadian Henley champion U17 quad crew that also included Rohin Kawal (Richmond), Jaxon Bailey (Vancouver) and Frank Luo (St. Georges).

Elijah Brown’s persistence to compete at the 137th annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta paid off in a big way.

Up until June, the 16-year-old from Ladner was training with the Delta Deas Rowing Club but, as the only U17 male member, was without a team for the prestigious event held earlier this month on Martindale Pond in St. Catharines, Ont.

Brown didn’t give up — reaching to three other independent rowers — Rohin Kawal (Richmond), Jaxon Bailey (Vancouver) and Frank Luo (St. Georges) to form a quad crew.

They trained with Thunder Rowing — based at the UBC Boathouse in Richmond —  under coach Vince Amedeo, with help from assistant Mike Lattimer, father of Ladner national team rowers Maxwell and Aaron Lattimer.

Having been battling against each other at past regattas, the boys didn’t know what to expect. However, it didn’t take long to develop chemistry. A strong showing in their debut at the B.C. Championships a few weeks later in Victoria, proved they could be a force to be reckoned with.

The team proceeded with an intense training schedule for the six weeks leading up to the Royal Canadian Henley — daily four-hour sessions that got underway at 6 a.m. 

Going into the heats in St. Catharines, no one had a clue who these guys were. 

The U.S. and Ontario crews were considered the favourites. The Thunder had other plans. 

After topping all the heats with the best clocking, the boys advanced to the semi-finals where they won their heat again. They entered the final with the third fastest time.

The following day, the boys arrived at the regatta in beast mode and fully believing that they could do this. No luck involved, just hard work and determination. 

They began the race slightly behind the Don Rowing club (Toronto) and Crescent Rowing (Philadelphia). As the race progressed they were third at the 1000m mark, then second at the 1500M. The boys then turned on the heat beating two of the top boats in North America by a boat length and a half to be crowned champions!

Brown and Rohin added another medal when they captured bronze in the U17 doubles. The Thunder’s U19 men’s quad — featuring Jack Lee Zhang, Colin Montgomery, Emre Alca, and Quinn Storey — captured silver in another exciting race.