U23 Reps Prove Tough For U.S. Crews

U.S. Scullers had a tough time this morning as they took to the course with light winds and mild temperatures, the best finish coming from Undine's Nicole Nelson who finished 5th in her heat in the light women's 1x. She will race Slovakia, Japan, Israel, Algeria, and Russia in the "C" Final tomorrow.

The light men's quad; who improved on their time from yesterday by nearly 10 seconds, were unable to keep pace with the fast starting Brits and Australians, and will face Belgium, Austria, and Russia in the "B" final tomorrow.

Russia, Portugal, New Zealand, and Japan will race the U.S. Light women's crew of Kristin Hedstrom, and Jillian Austin for the top positions in the "C" final.

The Women's 8+ easily won their exhibition race this morning by over 5 seconds after crossing the first quarter mark behind the crew from Belgium, they will try to make it official on Sunday.

Three U.S. crews have earned a berth in the "A" final and will contest medals on Sunday. The light men's 4- finished 2nd in their heat yesterday and will compete for a top spot in the final tomorrow in their "A" semi final. All U.S. crews competing in the first final will be amongst the favorites for a medal.

U23 World Championships Start This Morning

Several Crews took to the river this morning in Strathclyde to participate at the U23 World Championships. A persistent head wind has kept the times honest and has given a slight edge to the stronger crews on the course. 10 American Crews and 41 athletes will compete for the top spots in the semi and repercharge over the next three days.

Linday Meyer along with teammates Alison Fishman, Esther Lofgren, and Genevra Stone stroked the fastest time of the W4x so far. They won their heat by 2.5 seconds to advance directly to the next round along with the German’s who won their heat with a time of 6:54, 7 seconds south of the U.S. time.

Undine barge clubs, Nicole Nelson faced tough competition in her first outing on the national team. She placed 6^th in her heat this morning.

The lightweight women’s double scull also received a rude introduction to international racing from some very fast crews, Kristin Hedstrom, and Jillian Austin placed 5^th of 5 crews in the Light Women’s Double.

The Light Men’s Quad racing out of GMS rowing club finished 5^th in their heat with a time of 6:31. This technically proficient crew will be holding out hope for lighter conditions in the repercharge.

The U.S. heavy men’s quad had difficulty handling the Italian men’s blazing final 500-m, they also finished fifth in their heat with a time of 6:18. They were seeded in the fastest heat with the top three crews posting the top three times of the regatta so far in this event. They will hope to have better fortunes in the repercharge tomorrow.

The American 8+ won their heat this morning to advance directly to the next round. They, along with the Australians will wait as the remaining crews will battle it out in the repercharge.

Racing will continue through the remainder of the weekend and conclude with all grand final races on Sunday July, 29^th.

Week 2: Row America: The Allegheny River

This main tributary of the Ohio River stretches across two states and 325 miles. Named Allegheny by the Lenape (Delaware) Indians meaning roughly “fine river”, it connects to the Monongahela in the heart of the City of Pittsburgh and forms the Ohio. If you were to drop a water bottle in the river it is likely to travel past Pittsburgh’s Point State Park, and into the Ohio; which is the main tributary of the Mississippi River, which outlets to the Gulf of Mexico. This river has played a primary role in the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars. Its primary inhabitants were the Shawnee and Iroquois Indians until late in the 18th century.

Several Pittsburgh crews call this river home with The Three Rivers Rowing Association being the parent organization that houses over 15 scholastic teams that include the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne, and Carnegie Mellon. The club also houses a Master’s Rowing Organization, a junior summer program, several learn to row programs, and one of the largest Adaptive Rowing programs in the country. In recent years it was awarded the USRowing Club of the year because of it’s involvement in the development of all categories of rowing and its environmental conservation initiatives. In 2002, TRRA completed construction of a second boathouse located on the Midvale side of the river.

Launching northeast from the TRRA docks nestled quietly on Herr’s Island due north of the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus; you will find yourself in a tiny channel formed by Herr’s Island and Millvale. This channel is home to Beavers, cranes, and mice amongst other things. This quiet channel makes it easy to forget that you are minutes away from the city center and bustling Universities. As you approach the tip of Herr’s island the river opens up to allow a clear view of the river proper. Its size, depth and speed make it ideal as a commercial shipping lane, but in the late fall and early spring it can be a dangerous place for rowers. Its average discharge is 16,700 cubic f/s, which will easily double in flood conditions. The size and speed are not the only dangers to rowers, as you cross the river from Herr’s Island to the Lawrenceville side of the river watch for immense barges carrying everything from coal to massive quantities of garbage. It is a silent menace on the river that reminds rowers how tiny their boats really are, and they have nearly killed several inattentive crews. As you can imagine, they take lighting the boat in the early fall very seriously. Following the river Northeast under the 40^th Street Bridge you will find yourself in one of the widest parts of the river. Traveling around a long winding bend approx. 1.5 miles upriver will find you at a set of locks designed to help commercial boaters navigate the narrowing river. This basin can be one of the most beautiful spots on the river as the sun rises over your starboard side. Inevitably this will only be the first quarter of a long fall workout. Spin and head southwest towards the point and the city center. After traveling the 1.5 back to Herr’s island you will find yourself at the start line of the Head of the Ohio, the largest and best known regatta on this river. Under a railroad bridge and past a recreational boating dock you will bend around Herr’s Island to its southernmost point. It is here where you will get your first glimpse of the gorgeous view of the city. With the city landscape in full view you will pass through several winding and narrowing bridges. Traveling through the 9^th, 7^th and 6^th street bridges, known by the local rowers as the “Three Sisters” you will continue towards the HOTO finish line, Point State Park, and both Professional Sports Stadiums (PNC Park and Heinz Field). Exhausted at the finish line of this course will find you sitting at the point of the city where the Allegheny and the "Mon" meet the Ohio. There is an additional 12 (approx) navigable rowing miles down the Ohio at this point. On calm cool mornings, there enough river here to stretch the water wings of even the most ambitious rowers.

This river certainly has a temper, its size, shape, and commercial barge traffic do sometimes make it a less than ideal place to test your skill in a single or pair. However, on calm cool mornings there is no other better place to row in the America. Unlike Philadelphia or Boston there is minimal traffic from other crews and barges are infrequent. The navigable miles alone make this a perfect place to explore. If you have friends “Daan Ner in da Burgh, Yinz should check it out” and bring your single.

Help Me Help You!

So far 76 people have donated over $18,000 towards traveling expenses for the U23 lightweight quad. Although I sincerely hope that there is a time that promising athletes will not have to beg, borrow, and steal to afford trips abroad to participate in events like the U23 World Championships, it should be a source of pride that some members of the rowing community so regularly and willingly open their pockets to donate to athletes that harbor the dream of competing internationally, especially because many of them must struggle to fund their own ambitions.

The community of athletes that participate in this sport create the foundation where all dreams are allowed to flourish. In a sport where its members must propagate their own legacy and fund their own ambition it is a special thing to say that you are committed to achieving excellence in rowing. The following are just a few notables that have achieved or continue to strive to achieve success and are considerate enough to remember to help others chase their goals;

Tom Paradiso
Ted Farwell
Chris Ahrens
Mike Vespoli
Amongst Many Others...

As World Championships and the Olympics approach we should remember that several boats will need help affording the trip to Munich.

Greatest Races Week 17



Georgeta Damian and Viorica Susanu queitly took to the Olympic rowing venue in Athens Greece as one of the most decorated crews at the regatta. With three Olympic Gold medals, and 19 World Championship medals between them, these two athletes were attempting to win both the women's 2- and the women's 8+, repeating their performance from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Their dominant performance at this regatta secured their spot amongst the best rowers of all time.