2018 Sophia Jensen - Canada

Sophia Jensen (Canada) – Nominee for 2018 Junior of the Year award.

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Website: www.sophiajensen.com

Born: 2001, Represents: Canada, Sport: Sprint Canoe.

Major Results:

• 2018: Gold C1 200m, C1 500m, C2 500m Junior World Championships, Bulgaria.

Sophia Jensen dominated the 2018 Junior Sprint Canoe World Championships, bagging three gold medals in the C1 200m, C1 500m and C2 500m. Following in the footsteps of Canadian canoeists Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent, these results showed that the future of canoeing in Canada is strong. 

In the C1 500m event, Jensen won by more than four seconds, which is an incredible margin on the world stage. Then in the C1 200m, she was pushed to the line, eventually winning by half a second, before also taking out the C2 500m event with her partner Julia Lilley Osende. After winning two silver medals at last year’s Championships, this performance was the perfect reward for all of her hard work.

With maturity beyond her years, 16-year-old Sophia Jensen is described as a friendly, approachable and outgoing young woman who makes friends with all of her competitors and is always happy to chat with young up and coming paddlers.

In addition to her training load and studies, Sophia is an integral member of her local club. She is often found helping out within sessions with older and younger paddlers alike and is always positive and upbeat around the boat shed.

With canoeing being introduced to the Olympic program in 2020, the world is certainly Sophia’s oyster, and we can’t wait to see her progress in the years to come.