Gammon, Stephens win heavy medal haul at dragon boat worlds
- Spencer Seymour
- Jul 30
- 4 min read
By Spencer Seymour
St. Marys natives Elissa Gammon and Alexandra Stephens competed and won a trove of medals as part of Team Canada at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, held July 14-20 in Brandenburg, Germany.
Gammon told the Independent the experience was nothing short of surreal.
“The experience was something straight out of a movie,” Gammon said. “Stepping onto the race site for the first day brought all the excitement back from last time, knowing I was doing the sport I love the most internationally. The race site was well organized and easy to navigate. The race site almost gave off the feeling of being at a home regatta, with vendors everywhere, seeing old friends and making new friends. The atmosphere gave off competition and everyone just wanted a taste of it.”
Stephens described great fulfillment coming from the national program.
“I would explain my experience as rewarding. It was a tough competition competing against other countries, which I would say was run very well by the organizers and officials during the competition. Canada collected the most medals overall, but the junior team in particular struggled to win against the Americans. In fact, the two gold medals I won with our women’s team were the only two gold medals our junior team won, so it felt really good to be a part of something so successful.”
Both Gammon and Stephens were part of Canada’s gold-medal-winning U18 Standard Women’s teams, who captured the top prize in the 1,000-metre and 2,000-metre races. The two also helped the U18 Standard Women’s team win silver medals in the 200-metre and 500-metre events.
Stephens added a silver medal to her cache of hardware with the U18 Standard Mixed teams, capturing silvers in the 200-metre, 500-metre and 2,000-metre competitions. Stephens also finished fourth in the U18 Standard Mixed team’s 1,000-metre race. Gammon, meanwhile, as part of the U18 Small Boat Mixed team, finished fifth in the 200-metre event and sixth in the 500-metre event.
According to Stephens, the U18 Women’s squad became an especially tight-knit group, which contributed to them capturing a pair of first-place finishes.
“Throughout the competition, I felt a real connection with my teammates on the U18 Women’s team,” Stephens said. “The first time we raced together, we won gold in a 2,000-metre race, which was super exciting, but the pressure was on two days later when we had to paddle in a 1,000-metre race. We wanted to keep our winning streak alive, so we practiced positive thoughts and shared compliments and comments with each other to lift each other up, to know that we were paddling with people who wanted to stand on that podium just as bad as ourselves.”
Gammon further described the closeness of the U18 Women’s group.
“While working with amazing coaches and amazing teammates, a lot of amazing memories came from it,” said Gammon. “However, the most significant thing I think I’ll always remember is the U18 Women’s team. The connection on and off the water we had was special. Before almost every race, we would huddle up and all say a positive and motivating thing about the team, our team chant and we all did a big group hug while jumping up and down, saying, ‘Boule d’amour,’ which means, ‘Bottle of love.’ The memories I share with them I will forever cherish and hold a spot in my heart.”
The 1,000-metre race featured a highly dramatic finish for the U18 Women’s team, who bested the United States by as close a margin as possible, a moment that Stephens recounted vividly.
“After the 1,000-metre race, all of us slumped over feeling very tired, and as we walked off the dock, a coach was there to tell us we had won first by 0.1 seconds,” Stephens began. “We erupted in joy and I will never forget the moment of happiness, excitement and tears that truly brought our team together as one unit.
“I remember my eyes widening and immediately yelling with excitement with the rest of my teammates that we had won. As it sinks in, it feels like you’re on top of the world. It’s so satisfying, and a relief, as all of our hard work in that race had paid off. We really put every ounce of effort and energy into that race, so knowing we had beat the Americans even by 0.1 seconds felt incredible. There is really no feeling like it.”
Stephens explained the multiple layers of pride she felt in reflecting on her success at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.
“It means everything to compete at the world level. It’s a different feeling wearing our flag. Every time I’ve been on Team Canada, I’ve felt a true sense of pride wearing the maple leaf. I enjoy competing and paddling with people who are on my level and my age. It’s exhilarating. The majority of my training is individual, as I don’t paddle with a lot of people my age or at my level. For this cycle, I was determined to make the U18 Standard Mixed team, as that’s where the junior team’s best athletes lie.
“My goal was to make 16-year-old me proud that I did the work to make the mixed team, and I am proud to say that I achieved that goal, being lead stroke in that boat,” Stephens continued. “Nothing compares to paddling with Team Canada, the feeling will never get old and I hope to achieve that feeling once again when I’m older.”
Gammon echoed the sentiment of feeling an immense sense of pride in representing her country on the global stage.
“Being on the podium stage just felt like a relief, almost,” Gammon said. “It had shown that not only was my hard work paying off, but everyone’s hard work paid off too. I knew after each race that we had put our whole 10,000 per cent into that boat and our spot on the podium was deserved, even with the chaos that happened before, during, and after our races. I also felt proud to be on that podium. With everything that’s going on in the world right now, it felt good to be up there representing our country and the maple leaf.”
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