in Varese, Italy. The Statesmen qualified for Team USA in the lightweight pair. Racing begins on July 23 and runs through July 27.
The first day of our trip to the U23 World Championships in Italy was an eventful one. Starting with an early morning row at Mercer Lake, August and I stored away the boat and headed for the team bus at the Princeton Boathouse. With everyone in matching USA polos, the majority of the team was bused to JFK Airport just two hours away. Everything went smoothly in the airport except for trying to find food for a lightweight trying to cut weight. By 4:30, the team began boarding the Delta plane headed for Milan, Italy. With plenty of legroom in the front row, August and I, along with our coach for Worlds, Matt Rung, watched the sun go down for about three hours as we flew through the night into a new time zone. After a long day, we finally arrived at the hotel around 9 a.m. with a full day ahead of us. Surviving through jet lag, we traveled to Lago di Varese Saturday morning where we rigged our new Hudson pair and made sure everything was set for our first practice on the course Sunday morning.
July 20Greetings from Varese, Italy! After restless hours of travel and adjusting to the six-hour time change, Rob and I have finally settled into the routine here. Today marked the beginning of a promising week of success with Team USA. We are staying in a very modern hotel that seems to have been built to host spectators for the horse racing that takes place across the street. The rooms are super-efficient in the oddest of ways. You must insert your room card to turn on your lights and to use the bathroom. The staff is very courteous and has been working hard to provide us healthy, homemade meals three times a day. We have had pasta, rice, and chicken every night so far and we are finding it hard to complain. The taste of the food is far richer than what you can find back home in the States. Despite everyone being on their own schedule and training plan, meals have provided great bonding time between all of the athletes. Every table never hosts the same athletes, but they continue to share the same common theme—going fast and winning races.
The day begins with a 6:30 wake up call and an immediate walk to breakfast. After packing down as much as we can, we grab our gear and hop aboard the bus to take the 15 minute drive to the course. The venue is unlike any regatta I have ever been to. The course and spectator area has yet to be set up, but it's already apparent that the regatta is designed for the best athlete experience possible. There are hundreds of local Italian students who are working behind the scenes to ensure a smooth running regatta. From holding on to your personal bag while you're practicing, handing you your oar when launching, holding your shoes, etc. We really appreciate how enthusiastic these kids are about helping and being apart of a global competition. Many of the kids will approach us and ask a random question in English just to utilize the opportunity to learn/practice another language. They view us as super-atheletes and it is a truly heartwarming feeling.
The only downside has been that the weather has not been the friendliest. It has been mid 80s with all-day rain and a 75 percent humidity. The water is very choppy and windy, making it very difficult to find the fastest speed of our boat. Nevertheless, the training we've received on Seneca Lake has prepared us well for these types of conditions. On the brighter side of things, Lago di Varese is breathtakingly beautiful. We are surrounded by mountains smothered with wildlife and villages that can been seen for miles. Behind the mountains sit the huge, beautiful, snow-covered Swiss Alps that honestly appear to be the size of the entire sky.
However, even with all of the beautiful distractions and experiences, Rob and I are practicing hard and with intent. We are counting down the days until our first race (Wednesday afternoon TBD). We have limited internet access so we will continue to update all our supporters as frequently as possible. To all of those reading this: Rob and I truly appreciate all of the support you have shown us this summer. The memories and experiences we are gaining through this trip will forever be with us. We could not have made with without you. Please continue to follow our progress throughout the week as there should be an exciting conclusion!
Go Statesmen and Go USA!
—August
July 22Hello again from Varese, Italy! On Monday morning, the haze has lifted and the air was clear enough to see the Swiss Alps far past the starting line. However, the picturesque sites were hard for me to enjoy as most of the other countries had arrived by now and were out practicing as well. We are really starting to dial down the amount of work in preparation for the first race on Wednesday. Yet we continued working hard knowing, our competitors were doing the same and most likely watching us too. The following night, the entire U.S. Team traveled into the heart of Varese for the opening ceremony of the U23 Worlds. The event was held at the Estense Palace, a large estate that used to house the Lord of Varese. Centered in the beautiful garden surrounding the palace, the ceremony began with speeches in both English and Italian by the governor of Varese. After a precession of all 51 counties flags held by an athlete from each team, the FISA President declared the championship open. Now our sites were set on the heat that was less then 24 hours away, and making sure our weight was ready for the weight in prior to the race.
—Robert
July 23Today was the day that would define the remaining week. It was the day of our first heat (3:42 CET). The morning began just like any other, but with a greater level of professionalism amongst the two of us. It was time to go to business. Breakfast was light but nutritious as we were preparing ourselves for weigh-ins early that afternoon.
The bus ride was silent. It was the first time I had ever heard a bus full of athletes not speak a word. Everyone had their headphones on prepping their minds for their race that would require their peak performance. We arrived at the course with 30 minutes to spare until weigh-ins. Using the practice scale, Rob and I tested our weights to get a sense of what was needed to make the average weight of 70 kilograms. I was under average with a weight of 69.6 kg and Rob was slightly over at 70.6 kg. This was right where we wanted to be. Rob threw on a jacket and spun it out on the erg for a few minutes to sweat out the last 0.2 kg to make the average possible. Team USA was then called into the office to weigh in officially. I stepped on to weigh in at the same weight I was earlier. Rob then hopped on the scale, stepped off to remove his watch, and got back on to weigh in at 70.5 kg. We were 0.1 kg over weight! However, thanks to what I believe was divine intervention, the scale ticked down to 70.4 kg right at the last second - the Official couldn't believe her eyes.
Now that weighing in was over it was all about the race. We went through our normal warm-up routine (jog, erg, stretch) and reviewed our race plan. We launched 35 minutes before our race to ensure enough time to warm-up on the water and get to the start line. After a few power-tens and some starts, it was our time to go. We pulled into lane four and backed in our stern to get aligned for the race. Australia was to our right and Germany to theirs and France to our left with Turkey on theirs. The starting docks were the most populated I had ever seen. Dozens of photographers, coaches, and officials were all standing there waiting for the green buzzer to go off to set us free.
The first stroke went by and we immediately knew this was going to be a tough race. The field had left us in the dust at the start. We had started too conservatively and were in fifth place. Approaching the first 500m mark Germany had a length lead on the field with France and Australia close behind. Turkey and USA were battling out in the back. Being left behind was not a permanent position for Rob and myself. As we approached the 1000m mark, we had gobbled up Turkey, put them behind us, and were tracking down third place. We were one of the fastest crews in the third 500m. We passed both France and Australia to put us in second place behind the powerful Germans in front. We entered the last part of the race in second a few seats ahead of France, but we were too far behind to catch the Germans. France sprinted for second place while Rob and I held our speed to the line. We crossed the line in third place and successfully qualified for the semi-finals on Friday.
The rest of the day was filled with debriefing on the race and discussions with Coach Bugenhagen back home in the States. Next up for us is practice on Thursday and getting set up for what we know will be a fast semi-final.
Go USA,
—August
July 26The final day of racing is upon us! The last day of early wake ups, stressful racing, and cutting weight was now here. The morning began slowly. The efforts of the week finally caught up with us as we were beginning to feel sore and drained of energy. The emotions and frustration of not making the A-final exposed themselves as we were a bit sluggish and brought an initial tone to the day that we considered below our standards.
We hopped on the bus at 9 a.m. to make a 10 a.m. weigh in and a noon race. At least today, it was an earlier weigh in so we didn't have to watch our weight for the whole day. We luckily weighed in again at exactly 70.0 kg average without a sweat and headed out to grab our boat to launch for the race.
Rob and I channeled our frustration to ensure a dominate performance in our B-final. The buzzer went off and all the crews left the starting blocks. We had a strong start relative to the field and were evenly matched with the home-team, Italy, in the first few hundred meters. Coming into the first 500m we had created a length lead on Italy and a few seats on Japan and we knew we had control of the race. We used our strong base to push the other crews further back and in the 3rd 500m, Rob made the call "it's never enough" and we separated ourselves from the field.
We won the race by almost 7 seconds, which in pairs racing, is several boat lengths of open water. We had made the statement we wanted to make, and we really appreciated the crowd and athletes response to the quality of our efforts. While we had hoped our speed could earn us a spot in the grand final - seventh in the world is a proud rank to hang our hats on in our first international race. Rob and I have grown tremendously from all the lessons this summer and we're motivated to come back stronger and more prepared next year.
After getting back to the dock, we had our celebratory hugs and congratulations for an eventful week. At this point we were the most excited to finally be able to eat again. Rob and I went immediately with our families to the restaurant at the race course and ordered more food than we could possibly eat. A benefit of racing this early was that we had the rest of the day and Sunday to watch racing, eat, and enjoy the wonderful city of Varese, Italy. All of the time and investments made by us, our supporters, and our coach made the entire experience an incredible one that Rob and I will never forget. Now, we head back to the United States to enjoy the remainder of our summer and reflect on the experiences we gained to ensure another dominate season of Hobart rowing.
See you on the water,
—August
July 30After three international races and a first place finish in the petite final of U23 Worlds, I have acquired a sense of what the next level of competition beyond college has to offer. August and I went into the World Championships with high expectations, especially after our recent success rowing for Hobart and at the U23 trials. However, as soon as the racing began, our eyes were opened to the true speed and competitiveness of international racing. After coming off the heat's starting blocks in fifth place, we instantly knew success would be no easy goal at this regatta. In the end, by winning the petite final and finishing seventh overall, we came out of the regatta with an understanding of what international medaling speed requires.
When we return to Hobart at the beginning of September, August and I will rejoin the team with a new sense of the next level of racing. We hope to bring back with us proof of the amount of hard work that is required to compete at that level. With experience at the upper level, our goal is to push the culture of the team closer to the international standard, and to help more of our teammates compete at that level in the future. As for my future on the national team, I will be too old to compete at the U23 level next year. However, the senior national team would be the next step, requiring me to continue rowing after college. But for now, my eyes are set on my senior year at Hobart and to help the team win another championship.
—Robert
