Kayaker Julianne Girouard is back from Swift Current, Sask., her Western Canada Summer Games ended on Tuesday. While there, she earned herself and the Yukon two bronze medals in the K-1 500 and 1,000-metre races.

Like Yukon cyclist Mara Roldan, Girouard put her stamp in the record books as she was the first athlete from the territory to medal in either canoe or kayak at a multi-sport games.

“It is very cool and I’m very happy,” said Girouard. “I didn’t think about it until I crossed the finish line.”

Girouard, 15, said it was a shock to her that she medalled at the Games even though it was a goal of hers.

“It feels fantastic and surprising,” said Girouard. “All the other girls are older and I thought a level a bit higher.

“It feels good and I am proud of myself. My goal for the summer was to medal at the WCSG. It was a dream of mine and it happened and it’s great I did it with the Yukon flag and the club’s (Flatwater North) banner.”

Girouard said her confidence grew after she had a few races behind her.

“After my first heat I noticed I had the second-fastest time,” said Girouard. “That’s when it hit me that it’s possible to podium.”

The longer distances are Girouard’s preference because she finds it easier to put power in her stroke, compared to the short distances where stroke rate becomes more important.

Her sights will next be set on Nationals in Regina and said her experience at the Games will be beneficial moving forward.

“It’s good for me to be competing against 19-year-olds,” said Girouard. “Those races will make a huge difference.”

Being surrounded by older paddlers, she said she began to take notice on how her fellow athletes performed.

“I never paid attention to how people paddled until this year,” said Girouard. “Everyone is trying to do the same thing but do it in a different way.”

The medallists for the Yukon in the first phase of athletes have all been girls.

“I think it is awesome to see girls in the Yukon do stuff,” said Girouard. “It is interesting to show that we are active and having girls compete and show at the Games is awesome.”

The team had five paddlers in Swift Current and Girouard said they were all supportive.

“We are close for sure so its a big thing for us to medal,” said Girouard. “They were all happy for me. Now they are keen to get their own medal and they’ll have their chances.”

Coach Lynwen Birch said she is so proud of the way the team performed.

“The boys, 3/4s were racing against older athletes, one was 17,” said Birch. “Just observing them race, they raced better than the day before.

“The times for them personally were mostly in the bracket of what we were expecting and the times improved over the four days.”

What most impressed Birch was observing the paddlers go through the learning process.

“They were coming off the water with smiles on their faces,” said Birch. “You could see their own learning happening. We briefed with them after the race about what they want to keep and what they want to throw away but they began doing that themselves.

“You could see them maturing and learning about the competition that has greeted depth and talent.”

Now back from Swift Current, the team has gone right back into training. Birch said those who went left feeling motivated and ready to get better.

“Everyone is feeling really good,” said Birch. “You could see it in today’s session. The Games let them see older athletes and a level up and they want to reach that so they are motivated to keep going.”