The timer counts down and Pelly Vincent-Braun is off, speeding up his strokes as he passes the start line.

His life jacket clips a pole on the first gate and his bow hits the pole on gate two, but he’s lined-up perfectly as he goes over the first drop, his canoe gliding into the first upstream gate in the eddy.

He continues down the spectator-lined course at the Krakow-Kolna Whitewater Centre in Poland, as his Canadian teammates run down the river, shouting their support.

Vincent-Braun continues down the course, crossing the finish line 123.87 seconds later, nearly 40 seconds back on the winner. He has touched seven gates on his journey down the course and his 42nd place won’t be enough to advance to semifinals at the junior world championships. But he’ll get another shot on his second run in the afternoon.

The top 20 canoeists from the first run automatically advanced.

On his second run, Vincent-Braun paddles with the same intensity and skill, only hitting one gate and shaving another 12 seconds off his time, enough for 18th.

While he wasn’t able to advance to the semis, Vincent-Braun was pleased with his second run.

“I’m happy that I have been to two world (championships) and I can see the improvement since last year," he said after qualifications.

Last year he became the first Yukon canoeist to represent Canada at a whitewater canoe slalom junior world championships. The 17-year-old finished 37th at the event in Brazil.

Coach Brendan Curson said Vincent-Braun came into training at the Krakow course with a positive attitude.

“Pelly came in with a really positive and assertive mindset with the goal of taking a step up the ranking list,” said Curson.

Vincent-Braun finished 38th, the top junior Canadian canoeist at the event.

The Canadian team trained on the Krakow course ahead of the event, which began Tuesday with C-1 heats.

Once the race course is set, athletes don’t get a chance to paddle until they’re on the clock, so the training time becomes really important.

“His training was very focussed and positive,” said Curson. “It paid off in his racing.”

Vincent-Braun, who has grown up on the Yukon’s natural lakes and rivers in his dad’s canoe, is used to paddling on natural rivers.

The course in Krakow, however is an artificial course, a concrete canal with drops and plastic obstructions strategically placed to create the class II-III rapids.

Canada sent 19 athletes to the junior and U23 worlds this year, one of the biggest teams in recent memory.

Ahead of the competition, the team took in some of the local sights and enjoyed the Polish food.

Vincent-Braun launched onto the Canadian whitewater circuit in 2013, winning eight medals, including two golds at the Canadian national championships on the Kananaskis River near Calgary, Alta.

Vincent-Braun qualified for his second junior world championships at the junior and U23 Canadian team trials on the same river in May, where he placed second.