The end of June and beginning of July have been exciting for our Newport Aquatic Center athletes as they represented Team USA on the international stage at three major competitions: the Under 23 World Championships in Halifax, Canada, World Cup 3 in Montreal, Canada, and the Pan American Championships in Montreal. From battling difficult race conditions to earning personal bests and medals, our athletes continued to gain valuable international racing experience.
Under 23 World Championships – Halifax, Canada
The Under 23 World Championships brought together many of the world’s top young paddlers, and the first day of racing presented an extra challenge with extremely difficult weather conditions. Strong headwinds created whitecapping waves across the course, with water rolling over the starting gates and onto athletes’ boats before races even began.
Knytly Sybounmy
Despite the challenging conditions, Knytly Sybounmy advanced through the heats in both the K1 500-meter and K1 200-meter events, earning semifinal appearances in both races.
The difference in weather conditions were seen in the results of the K1 500. After posting a time of 2:42.54 during the difficult opening-day conditions, Knytly returned the following day in calmer weather and paddled a 2:11.43 in the semifinal—an improvement of over 30 seconds that showcased the impact of the conditions on a racer.
While the championship featured smaller-than-usual participation numbers, it still provided valuable international experience before she joined the senior athletes the following week in Montreal.
Knytly Sybounmy
World Cup 3 – Montreal, Canada
World Cup 3 brought NAC athletes together with many of the world’s best senior paddlers, providing another opportunity to compete against talented athletes.
Elena Wolgamont
Elena raced in the K1 500, K2 500, and K4 500 events.
In the K1 500, Elena successfully advanced through the heats and into the semifinals, where she finished seventh—just one position away from qualifying for the B Final. She moved into the C Final and finished third, concluding a strong individual performance.
Arezou Motamedi
Elena also paddled with Arezou Motamedi in the K2 500. The pair advanced through the heats and into the semifinals, where they also finished seventh, narrowly missing a place in the B Final.
The women’s K4 500 crew featured our NAC women Elena, Arezou, Knytly, and Alyson Mrozinski from Washington. After just two weeks of training together, the newly formed crew advanced through the heats and reached the semifinals. They finished eighth out of nine boats, missing the B Final. Although the results did not fully reflect their potential, the crew gained valuable experience racing together against world-class competition.
Aaron Small
Aaron competed in both the K2 500 and K4 500.
In the men’s K2 500, Aaron partnered with Cole Jones in an extremely competitive field that featured five heats, making advancement especially difficult. The pair unfortunately did not progress beyond the heats.
The men’s K4 500 crew advanced through the heats into the semifinals. Although they initially fell short of qualifying for a final, a German crew was disqualified after two false starts, allowing Team Canada to move into the B Final and collect additional Olympic qualification points. Even though the USA crew posted a time approximately two seconds faster than the Canadians in the semifinal—a significant margin in sprint kayaking—the qualification system awards points based on finishing position rather than time.
Knytly Sybounmy
Knytly also competed in the K1 200 and K4 500.
Her performance in the K1 200 heats advanced her into the semifinals, guaranteeing a place in a final. She qualified for the C Final and finished sixth, adding another solid international result to her season.
Pan American Championships – Montreal, Canada
The Junior and Under 23 Pan American Championships were held alongside the senior-level Pan American Championships, creating a unique opportunity for developing athletes to compete on the same stage as senior national teams. This competition took place at the same course and started the day after World Cup 3.
Because of the smaller number of participating countries, all events featuring NAC athletes were raced as direct finals.
Elena Wolgamont and Arezou Motamedi
Although Elena is currently the fastest US woman in the K1 500, she focused exclusively on team boats at the Pan American Championships.
Elena and Arezou raced together in the K2 500, finishing fourth out of nine boats. They crossed the line just over one second behind the bronze medalists while finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the fifth-place crew.
The women’s K4 500 crew, consisting of Elena, Arezou, Knytly, and Alyson, placed fourth out of five boats. They finished only three seconds behind the bronze medal-winning crew, showing promising potential as a developing team boat.
Elena, Arezou, Knytly, and Alyson
Aaron Small
Aaron raced in the men’s K4 500, where Team USA delivered one of the highlights of the regatta.
The crew led the race almost from start to finish before Canada surged ahead in the final 20 meters to claim the gold medal. Team USA earned the silver medal after a highly competitive performance.
Interestingly, the American crew had posted a faster time than Canada during the World Cup just days earlier. Canada fielded a slightly different lineup at the Pan American Championships, who ultimately helped secure the narrow victory. As a newly formed K4 crew, the silver medal represents an encouraging result as they continue preparing for the Senior World Championships in Poznań, Poland, this August.
Knytly Sybounmy
Knytly competed in both the Under 23 K1 events and the Senior K4 500, making for a busy racing schedule.
In the Under 23 K1 500, she finished fourth, just one second behind the bronze medal position. Even more exciting, she recorded a personal best time of 2:02.28, a significant milestone in her development.
Knytly capped off the championships by earning a bronze medal in the Under 23 K1 200, giving a great finish to her weeks of racing.
Looking Ahead
These three international competitions highlighted the continued growth of NAC athletes on the world stage. From personal best performances and semifinal appearances to a Pan American bronze medal and senior-level silver medal, the summer has provided valuable racing experience and strong momentum heading into the remainder of the 2026 season.
Congratulations to Elena Wolgamont, Arezou Motamedi, Aaron Small, and Knytly Sybounmy for proudly representing Team USA and the NAC community. We look forward to cheering them on as they continue their training and prepare for their final international competition at the end of the summer—the 2026 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships at the end of August in Poznan, Poland.
Get after it! So proud of you all!!