A 15 year-old junior athlete is competing globally in whitewater kayaking and has her eyes on not just the next competition, but the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
It's hard for Sage Donnelly to remember just how many competitions she and her kayak and canoe compete in every year.
"I'm not really sure. More than I can count,” said Donnelly.
Sage recently became the Junior Women's World Champion for freestyle kayaking. She competes across the nation year around, but this summer, she expanded to Europe where she did extremely well.
"I took home a gold, silver, and a bronze from several European competitions that I was competing in."
Oftentimes, Sage competes and wins against people much older than her.
"They're a couple years ahead of me which is kind of intimidating a little bit."
Sage is home schooled by her mother Stephanie in Carson City and started competing when she was just seven years old. All the while, dealing with Celiac and thyroid disease as well as Type 1 Diabetes. Even though she carries a waterproof insulin pump when kayaking, to Sage, her illnesses are really just water under the bridge. But for her mom, it's a little extra stress.
"At times it has been very frustrating getting her medications and insurance approval," said Stephanie Viselli, Sage’s mother.
This is something that makes for a very proud mom.
"I've got a kid that regardless of what's going on around her is always focused and dedicated and working hard to achieve her dreams."
Sage attributes a lot of her success to all that Northern Nevada has to offer such as the whitewater park in Downtown Reno.
"We have rivers everywhere. I live on the Carson River. The Reno Whitewater Park is where I learned everything."
Her next competition is next month in North Carolina, but as she works to keep winning, her eyes are on a much bigger prize.
"The 2020 Olympics is my main goal right now,” said Sage. "I'm just going to keep having fun and training hard and not giving up on my goals."
