British kayaker takes 3rd place in race on monstrous Canadian whitewater

British kayaker Bren Orton claims 3rd place in the boatercross event at Unleashed, held on swollen flood-stage river in Quebec

Bren Orton is one of the best whitewater kayakers to ever come out of the UK, with multiple podiums and wins in international freestyle events. This year he’s been stepping up his game even further, co-founding Unleashed (the ultimate multi-discipline kayaking competition) on the monstrously huge whitewater of Quebec in Eastern Canada, along with Dane Jackson (USA), Adrian Mattern (GER) and Kalob Grady (CAN).

The second stage of the event, which also includes freestyle and big wave surfing, was a boatercross race. Held on a rapid called The Gauntlet on the flooded Rouge river, multiple kayakers raced head to head down a chaotic surging rapid at the same time. In a dramatic photo finish, Orton claimed third spot just ahead of friend and co-founder Adrian Mattern.

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Stage 2 of UNLEASHED saw us travel to a flooded Rouge river to race head to head on some of the biggest rapids in the world. Racers had to be both fully committed and lucky, to make it through this humungous piece of whitewater upright and in a position to make the final move before the finish line.

The first stage of the event was a big trick contest on the mighty Ruins Wave close to downtown Ottawa, in which Orton also placed third.

British kayaker Seth Ashworth surfs the Ruins Wave with Ottawa in the background

British kayaker Seth Ashworth surfs the Ruins Wave with Ottawa in the background

Keep up to date on the rest of the Unleashed events here.

OAG