Rio Has Not Been Kind Thus Far To Jamie Schroeder.

After finishing 5th to the mutch improved Latin American field American single sculler, Jamie Schroeder didn't have much time to relax and take in the beauty of Rio before being robbed at gunpoint!

NBC News reported: http://www.nbcsports.com/sports/1793910/detail.html

"RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- U.S. rower Jamie Schroeder was robbed at gunpoint at a Rio tourist site on Tuesday, but was not harmed.
Schroeder and his parents were visiting the Santa Teresa shrine when a motor scooter pulled up and a man pointed a gun at him. He was told to give the man whatever he had, and then the robber took off on the vehicle.
The 25-year-old Schroeder, from Wilmette, Ill., and his parents finished lunch near the Lagoa course for the rowing competition before deciding to sightsee. He was not wearing any team clothing that would have identified him as an American.
The theft seems to have been an isolated incident."

New Weekly Segment; Row America
Week 1: Lake Washington

We will be reviewing some of the most beautiful rowing courses in America and will post this segment every Wednesday in a new segment we call "Row America". Please feel free to send us suggestions on your own personal favorite rowing spots.

Lake Washington/Lake Union

With over 17 navigable rowing miles, Lake Washington provides a myriad of landscapes to take in between hard pieces. Nestled between the laid back Metropolis of Seattle and Mt. Rainier National Park, it is literally the vein that connects Urban and rural life. Launching North West from the mouth of Lake Union you will find yourself amongst a shipping channel of immense fishing and crabbing boats, docked for most of the summer before making their annual voyage to Alaska. A perfect place to hide for 5 minutes pieces on windy days or busy afternoons.

Launching Northeast from Lake Washington Rowing Club will find you traveling around Gas Works Park and into a huge bay used by recreational sailing boats, and yachts. Keep an eye out for sea planes taking off and landing as you travel towards the Lake Union and Pocock Rowing Centers. This route hosts a gorgeous view of the city landscape including the infamous Space Needle. Past Pocock into Portage Bay gives you an up close and personal view of some of the quaint waterfront homes with elaborate decks and huge glass doors looking out onto the river. Continuing northeast, you will find yourself in the famed Montlake Cut, basically a concrete shipping channel that leads you out towards the Sound and Mercer Island. Passing by the University of Washington boathouse on calm mornings, you can travel the additional 12 mile (approx) around beautiful Mercer Island and on a clear day Mt. Rainier is visible from virtually every spot on the river. It remains one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen on a city river.

Over 40 clubs row out of the various boathouses on or near Lake Washington including the defending national collegiate champions, the University of Washington. Pocock and Lake Washington house most of the post-collegiate elite Athletes in Seattle. Last year Pocock sent a women's lightweight quad that won the World Championship trials and earned the right to represent the U.S. in that event in Eton. They also housed famed Junior Lyndsey Myer, who became the first junior single sculler to ever win a medal at the Junior World Championship.

Lake Washington, another boathouse on the river, is known most notably for Coaches Frank Cunningham and Bill Tytus. Frank along with George Pocock is widely considered the grandfather of West Coast rowing. He has been at LWRC on and off for the last 31 years and began rowing in 1937. As a lightweight he stroked the Harvard heavy weight eight to a near perfect season in 1947. He has written sculling technique books, one of which is entitled The Sculler at Ease and has been mentioned in books like David Halberstam’s, The Amateurs.

Bill Tytus is the current owner of Pocock Racing shells, purchased from George Pocock in 1985. He was a Henley Diamond Sculls finalist in 1969 and was a member of the U.S. National team in 1969, 70, and 71 and is one of the final surviving rowers to be coached by George Pocock. He has coached for LWRC for 16 years.

Most recently Lake Washington fielded a men’s lightweight double in 2003 that earned the right to compete in the Pan American games.

The University of Washington has been on Lake Washington for over a Century. The first women's crew at UW took to the river in modest long sleeve blouses and gathered pants. The men traveled to California to compete in their first race in 1903 by steamship. Since then they have consistently fielded the best men's and women's crews in the country.

The most notable fall races on this course are the Tail of the Lake in October and the Head of the Lake in November.

The river itself can be volatile and rowing in the afternoons can be windy and filled with close encounters with recreational boaters, but if you ever get the opportunity to row there on a calm summer morning take it. The perfect summer temperatures, great view, and miles and miles of navigable river make this a unique spot.

World Cup Recap

U.S. rowers recorded two medals at last weekend’s World Cup Race in Lucerne, Switzerland. The women’s pair of Megan Cooke and Anna Mickelson placed second among a talented field, finishing 2.5 seconds off the eventual winner. The women’s eight, with new members: Erin Cafaro and Portia Johnson won their event, leading from post to pedestal.

The men’s double of Sam Stitt and Matt Hughes missed making the “A” final after losing to the eventual winners, Esontian’s Tonu Endrekson and Jueri Jaanson by 1.5 seconds in the semi final. They went on to win the “B” final and place 7th.

The women’s light double of Jana Heere and Wendy Trapician placed 4th overall. They held the lead through the 1500-m point but did not hold off sprints from Germany, Canada and Denmark.

The Light Men’s 4- finished 2nd in the “C” final, a step backward from their encouraging sixth place finish at World Cup 1. As the Pan American light four continues to keep things rolling in Rio De Janeiro we could certainly see these lineups reshuffled for the World Championship.

(THIS WEEK'S GREATEST RACES BELOW)
Train Hard and Pay Out of Your Own Pocket.


Last week ten crews, over 40 athletes earned the right to travel to Strathclyde, Great Britain to compete at this year's Under 23 World Championships. While most people their age are traveling to the beach for a summer of partying, these individuals have chosen to spend the last three months training obscene hours, and dealing with the daily rigors of a national team camp, all in the hopes of achieving their dream of medaling at a World Championship. Unfortunately, now that they have earned the opportunity to represent their country at this event, they have yet another obstacle to overcome; they will be burdened with the responsibility of fundraising for their trip. Please help them make this task as easy as possible and donate what you can here, donations start at $25. Helping these athletes achieve their dreams should be the responsibility of the entire rowing community.

Greatest Races Week 16

In 1999, Chris Ahrens, Garrett Miller, Jeff Klepacki, Mike Wherley, Tom Welsh, Porter Collins, Bob Kaehler, Bryan Volpenhein, and Pete Cipollone sat on the starting line unbeaten in two years. The crew had remained unchanged since their last visit to the top of the Podium amidst a sea of criticism and doubt from the rowing community. As Tim Foster and Steve Trapmore helped the British plow through the 1000-m mark, they became the first crew in 2 years to find the 750-m mark before the Americans in the final and the naysayers appeared to be right. The British had already begun entering their boat in the annals of Rowing history when the Americans decided they might have a little something left.