Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to row as fast as I needed to today in my repechage and I ended up 3rd (only the top two qualified to the A/B semi). The German rower, Marcus, had a really impressive race, finishing in 9:35 against a strong headwind. I finished in 10:22, which given the headwind I was okay with. I would have liked to be a little faster, but I really struggle to maintain boat speed in a gusty headwind. This is partially due to my size, but also because I don’t have as much layback as most of my competitors which is the most efficient for headwind rowing. As a result of this, I progressed to the C/D Semifinal, which is tomorrow at 3:15 pm CET (9:15 am EST). Hopefully, this is streamed here (I thought it would be today).
Because I missed out on the A/B semi the best place I can finish is 13th (1-12 are decided in the A and B finals) which is outside of the top 7 that would have secured a spot for Paris. This is unfortunate, but there are more opportunities in early 2024 to qualify so I can take what I have learned and what I will learn in the next two races and get back to training and improving.
I will write more about what this entails and how I am feeling looking forward to this coming year, but for now, I am going to get some sleep before my semi tomorrow. Wanted to update everyone on the new racing schedule though!