Members of Chelsea’s Cascades Club competing in Montreal were top of their field and ended the weekend on the podium. 

Eli Thorp, a 16-year-old from Chelsea, won a silver medal at the Pan American sprint canoe championships, even though it is only his second summer training as a canoeist. Chelsea’s Sophia Jensen, an Olympian, also won a medal at the Pan American championships – she won gold in the women’s 200-metre canoe sprint. 

Thorp was paired with another athlete to compete in the duo 500-metre canoe sprint during the championships in Montreal.

“I was very tired after,” he said in an interview with the Low Down. “I pushed myself really hard.”

This year, after having success at the Canadian trials, he is competing on the national team. He was awarded a spot to travel to Slovakia for the Olympic Hopes event in September, where he’ll gain experience competing against international athletes. Thorp is one of the three Canadian 16-year-old boys to be chosen to canoe at the event.  

Prior to that competition, Thorp is preparing for the provincial championship in August in Montreal, followed by the national championships in Ottawa at the end of the month. 

There is lots of rowing still to be done this year, but Thorp said he’s also looking towards next year when he’ll move up from the U16 to the U18 age group for races. 

“My goal is to keep improving and just continue competing at a high level,” he said. 

Thorp explained that he trains six days a week with Cascades Club, with two paddling sessions in the water each day and alternating days running and lifting weights. 

As an avid cross-country skier, he said he’ll stay active all winter to keep strengthening his cardio. He said he looks up to other Cascades Club athletes who similarly train by staying active in other sports.

“Sophia Jensen, who trains at our club, she’s a big cross-country skier, and she’s always skiing,” he said. 

Thorp said he did a summer camp at Cascades Club in 2024 and really enjoyed canoeing. In the summer of 2025, he decided to take training seriously and racing regularly. He went to a spring training camp in Portugal and worked all summer to improve his skills.