It was an historic trip to Medellin, Colombia for several Lower Mainland-area players on Canada's two U17 national teams, which involved teens who live in Surrey, Delta, Langley, Abbotsford and Maple Ridge.
The men's youth team won gold and women squad scored silver at the PanAm Aquatics Championships, May 13-25.
Water Polo Canada says it's their best-ever overall finish at this competition, for this age group, and the first championship title there for the men's youth team. Previous best performances were third-place finishes at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 editions.
B.C.-based water polo players on Canada's golden men's U17 team are Joshua Coxford (Langley), Jackson Culbreath (Surrey), Elliott Griffoen (Surrey), Elliott King (Surrey), Nash Porter (Langley) and Adam Rashed (Delta).
The silver medal-winning women's team includes Airi Cowie (Maple Ridge) and Alexandra Stoddard (Abbotsford).
The men's youth team began their round-robin tournament with a 32-4 win against Venezuela, followed by a loss against Brazil (11-6). They then won their five following games. In quarterfinals, Canada won 23-4 against Argentina and then, in semifinals, they beat the U.S. squad, 17-11.
In the final, Canada got their revenge on Brazil with a 11-10 victory. Canada was led by Coxford (Langley) and Ivan Khramtsov (Mississauga, Ontario), who both scored three goals each, as well as Langley's Porter, named Most Valuable Player for the final game. Khramtsov was named MVP for the men’s tournament.
"This group has come a long way since last year’s U16 Worlds, where we got our first real taste of international water polo," Khramtsov said. "This time, we came with experience, hunger, and a belief in each other. Our week of preparation before the tournament set the foundation, and every player stepped up when it counted.”
On the women’s side, Canada started the tournament with three wins. In the final, they lost to the U.S. team, 18-7.
Eleven water polo teams competed in the men's tournament, seven on the women's division, at the 2025 PanAm Aquatics Championships, the first edition of a multisport event that also included diving, swimming, high diving and synchronized swimming.
