For the first time since the pandemic, a racketlon tournament was contested in Ottawa, on August 10 and 11. More than thirty players, mainly from Ontario, some coming from as far as Barrie, were on the courts to see who the better racket sports athlete is.
In the A division, the finale saw Jeremy Easterbrook, who is always first or second in the Canadian ranking, face badminton pro player: Austin Flannigan. Thanks to his superior table tennis and squash, Jeremy won by an 11 points margin. Nathan Bédard finished 3rd.
In the B, Caleb Hui proved to be too strong for the category only Amir Lavasani, the third place finisher came close to beating him. Finalist was Kyle Tuong Ly.
In Over 45 singles it was the battle of the legendary Martynyshyn brothers (a legendary doubles pair for the past 15 years) This time around it was Mark’s turn to get a win over Mike. Rod Bédard is third.
The u-17 saw Amir Lavasani winning his matches before the 4th sport, Michael Gadza is the finalist.
In the Girls U-17 four girls competed (this category is a pleasant surprise for us at Racketlon Canada). Maddie Martynyshyn is first and Millie Mikovich second.
In the U-11 category Owen Mikovich has first place and Hunter Tang second place.
In the men’s doubles, the legendary team fell to youngsters and university badminton players, Anthony and Nathan Bedard in the semis. The finale features two teams of A level badminton players, Bedard brothers and Austin Flanigan with Kevin Wilson. Table tennis was a clean sweep by the Bedard bros, the opposite of the pickleball game where pro player Wilson made the difference. They key was badminton, the more experienced team of the Ontarian came on top with a 21-10 win. Anthony and Nathan won squash 21-19 but it was not enough.
Ladies doubles was the affair of Jenn K and Tania P. Second place went to Sabrina S and Sophia D.
Finally, in the mixed doubles, Austin Flannigan added a second tittle with partner Sashini, while Isaac Martynyshyn and her cousin Maddie Martynyshyn took the second place. The Martynyshyn legacy is in good hands.
Many thanks to Steve Mikovich for reviving the RA Center racketlon in a new and improved venue.
