The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 16, 2015 | 8 Burloak's Reardon narrowly misses medals Brady Reardon was close to a medal in both of his Pan Am kayak events, finishing fourth in one and six-tenths of a second from bronze in the other. But missing out on the podium on a familiar Welland, Ont. course didn't sit well with the Burloak Canoe Club paddler. "We were going in with higher hopes, coming off our World Cup results this year. We've been neck and neck with Argentina, and beating Brazil," Reardon said of his kayaking fours (K-4) 1,000-metre team, which finished well behind Cuba, Brazil and Argentina in Sunday's final. "We hadn't raced against Cuba (Sunday's winner) before, so that came out of nowhere. It was an eye-opener for our guys." In Reardon's other event, the K-2 1,000m, he and teammate Andrew Jessop were fifth Monday but actually came closer to a medal than the K-4 1,000m team. The duo was involved in a tight three-way race for bronze, but a video review determined the Canadians finished behind third-place Brazil and fourth-place Mexico. Cuba won the event, followed by Argentina. "I had no idea (it was so close)," said Reardon, who spilled into the Welland Canal water with Jessop immediately after crossing the finish line. "I was just trying to get to the finish line as fast as I could. "Unfortunately, we didn't have much time in the boat to practise," the Burlington resident added. "The focus has been on the K-4. We just hopped in the (K-2) boat and were hoping for good things." While Reardon hoped for a better showing in a rare opportunity to compete internationally in front of family and friends in Welland, his greater focus has always been on the world championships next month. The top 10 K-4 boats at worlds will qualify for the 2016 Olympics (four different regions must be represented, so Canada could still qualify if it was 11th overall but first Brady Reardon (front of the boat) and the Canadian men's kayaking fours team finished fourth in the Pan Am Games 1,000-metre event Sunday in Welland, Ont. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Metroland Media Group among Pan American nations). If Reardon and teammates Phil Duchesneau, Pierre-Luc Poulin and Jessop qualify for the Olympics in the men's K-4, Reardon and Jessop would not attempt to qualify in the men's K-2. If the K-4 boat does not qualify for the 2016 Games, the K-2 squad could earn a trip to Rio with a victory at next year's Pan American championships. -- Jon Kuiperij WIN A MEAL FOR 4 Fill in this coupon and bring in to Ben & Florentine 146 Lakeshore Rd.W. - Oakville · 905.338.6333 · Monday to Sunday · 7:00 am to 3:00 pm Name : Phone : Email : The draw will take place on August 16th at 4:00pm.The winner will be contacted by phone Youngsters excited to see paddling mentors live by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor For years, Burloak Canoe Club's younger paddlers have watched elite teammates Adam van Koeverden, Mark Oldershaw, Brady Reardon and others train for international competition. This past week, the protégés finally got to see their mentors in action as the Pan Am Games sprint canoe/kayak competition was held in Welland, Ont. "It's really cool to see them. We see them at our club practising and working hard," said 13-year-old Burloak paddler Kate Pennyfather, whose older brother, Sam, will compete in the junior world championships later this month. "It's exciting to see them actually put their training into use," added Burloak teammate see Athletes on p.16 www.oakville.ca An arts and culture playground for kids of all ages! The Backyardigans I Cosima Grunsky I Gadfly Dance Toopy & Binoo's Frank Meschkuleit I Street Magician Ray Chance MOTUS O dance I Zacada Circus I Art and Building Workshops Skateboard Ramp I Kids Play Zone I Zorbit Sports Kinsmen Breakfast and BBQ I Face Painting I Food Trucks and more! Sunday, July 19 at Coronation Park! Park opens at 9 a.m. Free Oakville Transit shuttle from Halton Regional Centre and Bronte GO Station. Bike parking on site. Rain or shine! Visit oakville.ca for event details.