Strong bond key to Saskatoon paddlers' success

Wascana Lake has been busy all week, as athletes from across Canada descended on Regina for the Canadian Sprint Canoe and Kayak Championships.

Among them were Saskatoon's own Jarret Kenke and Mykel Kowaluk, fresh off of representing Canada at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. 

Both Kenke and Kowaluk left previous athletic pursuits to follow their kayaking dreams. Together — and separately — they've collected gold, silver and bronze medals at events in Canada and around the world.

Kowaluk used to play hockey in Saskatoon, and when he found his interest in that sport was waning he turned to paddling. 

Kenke used to be a competitive swimmer but he "tailed off" on that sport. He found he still loved water and at 11 or 12 he got into canoeing and kayaking. 

They found each other through training and have since collected a boatload of medals together. 

"There's a certain honesty between us," Kenke told CBC Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend. "You don't always get that between your partner and yourself."

Kenke said the pair are always vocal about how they're feeling, or how their boat is feeling and they are committed to fixing anything that doesn't feel just right. He said the pair, from a young age, have sought perfection together. 

"We can spend three quarters of the year not in the same boat together and all of a sudden hop in and within one or two days we're back where we were the previous year," Kenke said. 

The pair's bond has grown stronger from their relationship on dry land, too. When they were in Florida for training programs, they spent three and a half months as roommates.

"When we were young we were spending more time together than we were with our parents," Kowaluk said. "You just kind of grow into it."

According to unofficial results posted on Friday, the pair placed third in their 500 metre race while their club's team of four placed fourth in the 200 metre race.