Northern BC has another athlete competing at the Rio Olympics
Antje von Seydlitz of Smithers will be rowing for Team Canada.
She’s one of 26 athletes rowing at the games in August and is currently training with the team in London Ontario.
Growing up cross country skiing, she started rowing in 2008 becoming a world U23 champion four years later.
Her mother Magdalene Seydiltz is proud, saying the Olympics never crossed her mind when her daughter began rowing.
“She was inspired to do it on her own. We we’re hoping she could go to the Olympics, and yeah…she did it!”
She’s coming off a gold win at the Pan Am Games and will be heading over to Brazil by the weekend.
Seydiltz will join Prince George high jumper Alyx Treasure, Williams Lake rugby player Kayla Moleschi and Kitimat race walker Ben Thorne as Northern BC’s representatives in Rio.
A total of 313 athletes have been named to the Canadian Olympic team, 187 women and 126 men ranging in age from 16 to 56.
The 24-year-old Treasure will compete on August 18th.
She is coming off a 7th place finish at an international meet in London, England with a leap of 1.92m, just a centimeter shy of her personal best.