The CRASH-B Sprints at Boston University's Agganis Arena
"Even though this international crew competition takes place in Massachusetts, it seems that rowers who aren’t from the United States win the number one spot for each race."
International Rowing Competition Boasts German Victories
By Shelby Penfield - 10/03
Rowers from all over the world traveled to Boston University’s Agganis Arena where up to 220 athletes gathered to race one another in a timed two- kilometer (2,000 meter) race on Feb. 14.
The race, otherwise known as the C.R.A.S.H.-B’s, is split up and categorized by the rower’s weight, age, and gender. Some familiar rowing teams such as Maritime Rowing Club, Greenwich Crew and Kent School Boat Club attended the competition, ready to race against some of Europe’s top rowers from Germany, Denmark, and France as well as North American competitors from Canada. Master women’s rower Molly Columbo who placed 2nd for master women declared that, “the overall atmosphere in the room is very intense.” And this must be so considering there was over 250 teams competing in this competition.
Judith Sievers from Team Germany won the junior women’s event with a time of 7:02.6. While the average time of the Junior Women’s was 7:58, Sievers won by an astounding 56 seconds.
Similar to the Junior Women’s race, the results from the Junior Men’s included another win for Team Germany. Felix Bach won with the time of 5:51.8, not only adding another win to Team Germany, but also breaking the previous world record of 5:55; he now holds the world record for fastest 2k ever for Junior Men. The average time for a 2k for Junior Men is 6:56, thus illustrating Bach’s big win by a minute and six seconds.
At the beginning of the Junior Men’s first heat, Bach began his 2k with such force that he was able to break the chain of the Concept2 rowing machine within the first 500 meters. Another event in which the Germans took first was the Junior Women’s Lightweight event where Fabienne Knoke won with a time of 7:18.5.
Why is it that Germany seemed to have won each event of the C.R.A.S.H. B’s? Team Germany not only brought their top rowers in the country to compete but they seem to have a daily, rigorous workout schedule to simply prepare for this international competition. According to Bjoern Loatsch, one of Team Germany’s coaches, “We train every day. Sometimes two or three times a day during the weekends and school vacations.”Their daily workout consists of rowing up to 30,000 meters per day.
The next big competition to look out for is the World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. It will be held in from Oct. 31-Nov. 7 of 2010 where these same competitors from all over the world will gather and compete in a two-kilometer outdoors race. To get ready for the next big world rowing competition, rowers plan on competing in local regattas as well as training everyday to get their times lower to try to win the title as top rower in the world. Dmitri Vlasovv, coach of Vskulls (a team in Greenwich), stated “Winter training is necessary for a rower to be successful in the spring, when bigger and more intense regattas are held.” Competitor Felix Bach followed Vlasovv’s word of advice because he won the World Rowing Championship in 2009 and holds the world record for the fastest two-kilometer sprint on a rowing machine for junior men.
Even though this international crew competition takes place in Massachusetts, it seems that rowers who aren’t from the United States win the number one spot for each race. Keep your eyes open to see whether or not Germany again wins the World Championships occurring in October and November.
