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 The Donald sisters celebrate a bronze medal in the women's double - go SBTC! Photo: USRowing
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SBTC rowers make history!26.Jul.2010 Craftsbury SBTC rowers competed in their last races at U23 World Championships this weekend, with results that were historic for both the SBTC program and United States rowing in general. The athletes are now on their way home from Brest, Belarus, and will receive a hero's welcome back in Craftsbury for sure! Elizabeth and Rebecca Donald brought home the first U23 medal in SBTC history, rowing to third place in the women's double. The twins had won their initial heat on Thursday, and got a free pass straight to Saturday's A Final. The competition was a bit fiercer than in the prelims, but Liz and Rebecca buckled down and rowed in third position for the entire race, holding strong against a late charge by Romania to secure third by a tenth of a second in 7:20.46. Germany led the race from start to finish, winning in 7:03.47, followed by Belarus in 7:08.28. Coach Larry Gluckman was excited about what the twins' medal meant for the program. "It has been 2 months since they arrived at Craftsbury and their development as a double is directly related to their single focus. Their attention to detail and willingness to buy into the program is reflected in their efforts today. From the warm up to them leaving the starting platform for a practice start while all other crews remained with 5 min. from the start showed that they understand the entire process of the racing environment... Winning their heat was no fluke although many thought it was. The bronze showed they belonged in this field." The twins' bronze also contributed to a record seven medals for the United States at the Championships, demolishing the previous record of 4 in 2002. Craftsbury is proud that the SBTC could contribute to this historic hardware haul. Also racing on Saturday was the lightweight men's double of Alex Burjakowski and Nick Trojan. After having a rough time in the prelims and semifinals, they had a strong race in the D Final, winning in 6:54.98 by a second over Moldova. Burkakowski and Trojan have just entered the U23 age group, so this year's racing, while perhaps not what they were hoping for, is preparing them well for the future. Gluckman was enthusiatic about the future for Burjakowski and Trojan: "The light men's double finally found a group of crews that matched with their speed and experience. and they demonstrated that as a young double they have some promise." After rowing their way to the B-Final, Hank Moore and Ben Johnson finished 6th in their heat, for 12th place overall in the men's straight pair. With 4 races at the Championships, they gained a lot of international experience. Glcukman said, "It is unfortunate that they came into the final as their last U23 race." The last SBTC boat to compete was John Graves in the B Final of the lightweight single. For him, too, it was the 4th race of the weekend, which was less than ideal. However, John proved that he still had some gas in the tank, and after rowing in 6th position for much of the race, he passed the boat from the Netherlands in the final 500 meters to secure 5th in his heat and 11th overall in a time of 7:51.04. While this may not sound as impressive as the twins' bronze medal, it was in fact a landmark for U.S. rowing: the highest finish by a lightweight single sculler in U23 history. John's accomplishments are all the more impressive considering that U23 trials last month was his first race a lightweight rower. Graves is in his final year of eligibility as a U23, but that doesn't mean that he won't accomplish some amazing things in rowing in seasons to come. Said Gluckman, "John was rowing in his second U23 World Championships, and was doing so in a different class- in 2009 he was in the open pair... he is quite an athlete." Next up for the SBTC athletes is the Canadian Henley Regatta. First, though, we hope they'll relax and celebrate their accomplishments! Links: complete final results at WorldRowing.com USRowing Saturday press release USRowing Sunday press release photos from USRowing's Flickr stream |