Hoschton teen has Olympic dreams

Ash raced against 18 girls, and is ranked third in the nation in her age category.

That qualified her to attend a camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., where she will be training beginning June 21.

If she makes the time standard, she will travel to Moscow, Russia, to represent the United States in the 2009 World’s Competition, where teams from 30 different countries will be competing from July 31-August 2.

Cannie’s mom, Elizabeth Ash, said her daughter’s love for the sport started early.

“When she was little, we drove by the lake one day,” she said. “She saw some people kayaking, and said ‘I want to do that.’ She just fell in love with it, and she’s progressed and here we are. We’re very proud.”

Cannie has won national and international medals during her career.

Elizabeth said that Cannie’s competing has taken hard work and dedication, especially with her goal of reaching the US Olympic team. She is currently training three times a day every day as she prepares for the trip to Lake Placid.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.