Recap of Worlds and looking ahead
Reflections on the World Championships and my schedule for the fall
One month after the start of the World Rowing Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, I am still processing the whole incredible experience. It was a whirlwind of two weeks of rowing, recovery, and racing, and I appreciated the cheers from afar as I finished 5th in the Semi-final event and 4th in the B Finals, placing me 10th overall! I cannot thank enough all of the people and organizations who have helped me get to this point: my excellent coach, Sasha Bailey, the US Para-team, West Side Rowing Club, BIAC, and the many more people who have provided resources, guidance, and support along the way.
Within hours of my final event, my parents and I drove from Prague to Warsaw, where I caught a flight to San Francisco the next morning and began classes back at Stanford the next day.
I have spent the past three weeks settling into classes and the logistics of school and establishing a solid workout regime. I am headed back to the East coast for the next two weekends to race at the Head of The Charles in Boston, with my younger sister Mary, in the Inclusion Mixed Double event, and then back to Philadelphia to race in the Philly Gold Cup. I am excited for both races, especially Philadelphia, because it is a 650m sprint, and all three classifications are racing together with a stagger start meaning it should be a very tight and fun (and hard) race. If you will be in Boston for the Head of the Charles, stop by the JL tent where I will be hosting a meet and greet to talk about the High Fives Foundation and para-rowing! Read more about the event here.
I haven’t been rowing on the water these past couple of weeks, partly due to the logistics of my seat and oars shipping from Europe but also in an effort to give my back a chance to rest. I have been doing a lot of weight lifting instead, as well as core and cardio and the Peloton yoga classes my mom and sister are constantly nudging me to take. :) I am very excited about both of my upcoming races, but in the year-long training scheme, this is more of an “off-season” for the next couple of months, where I will be doing longer, lighter pieces on and off of the water.
Recap of Semi-finals and Finals at Worlds!
The best part of my two weeks in Prague was that Coach Sasha and I improved my boat’s rigging set-up and honed in on my race plan for competitions. As a result, my race times improved significantly. The gold medal standard (the current fastest 2k time in an event) for the PR1 is 8:55 (set earlier this spring by Italian Giacomo Perini. My goal for Worlds was to be 85% of the gold medal standard. My times were 10:32 (heats), 10:27 (reps), 10:10 (semis), and 10:22 (finals), which put me at 91% of GMS, about which I was very excited.
Going into my semi-final, I wanted to do two things: be longer in the start and try to maintain length and hang throughout the piece. My repechage was a great race, but throughout the piece, I could feel strokes where I was long and hanging on the oar, and then I would shorten up and “grab” (catching with my arms slightly bent, which then relies on my biceps vs. my lats and back). So I wanted to try to see if I could string together more of these faster, more efficient strokes. Looking back, I think the Semi-final was my best race of the week because I could execute both of my goals and had a great mental state going into it. The top 7 athletes in my event are much faster than me (now), and 3 of them were in my semi, so I was just focusing on racing my own race as cleanly as possible. This mindset allowed me to stay focused and calm and not get too caught up in the results.
After my semi-final on Friday, I took Saturday off and explored Prague with my parents and brother, William. This diversion was incredible because I hadn’t seen much of Prague (AMAZING architecture!), and it was an excellent respite to take my mind off rowing for a couple of hours.
While my Semi-final was my best race, my Final was my most challenging. I was excited to race following my semi and wanted to row the same race, but see if I couldn’t turn up the intensity, specifically in the middle 1000. Because I was racing at a much lower rate than everyone else, I wanted to focus on length and power in the middle portion and pick up time there. Unfortunately, I got a bit caught up in the race and went out hard initially, maybe a little too hard.
I have found that there is always a fine line when rowing where I can always “go harder” or “dig deeper,” but want to do that without flying and dying. Finding the middle ground of going as hard as possible while also allowing myself to maintain that pace throughout the race is challenging and especially difficult at the start. The adrenaline rush I get when the boot (the cup that holds the bow of the boat) drops, and the race has begun, is pretty incredible. For that first part of the race, you feel like you can go as fast as you want forever. I also tend to row very short in this part of the start. In my semi, I was good about quickly lengthening out and getting into a good rhythm which was fast and left me feeling strong when I came out of the first 500.
In my final, however, I went out hard and fast (and short), so by the time I reached the second 500, I was hurting. The rest of the field had moved up on me, and I was 10 seconds down on 4th, crossing the 500. For the next 1000, I mentally calmed down, focused on length and hang, and just tried to row as cleanly as possible. It paid off, and by the time I had crossed 1500 I had moved into 4th. I continued to move up and finished 10 seconds ahead of 5th.
While I think I could have had a cleaner start, I am happy with the significant move I made in the second half of the piece. Lots to improve!
The whole event was a huge learning opportunity, and super fantastic to be training with the greater para and senior national team. I am looking forward to the next two weekends of racing and then focusing on my winter training routine.
Thanks as always for all the support, I look forward to seeing some of you at the head of the Charles.