2011-2012 Indoor Rowing Season One of the Best Yet: Impressive Erg Scores from the U.S. and Abroad



As has been acknowledged on the FISA website, this season of winter training has produced some of the most impressive ergometer results ever recorded, and, given the nature of the 'information superhighway' and the greater tendency among athletes to share their erg scores than in previous years, we know more than ever before about these impressive feats. (Disclaimer: the following is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but rather a selection from a season laden with highlights.) The above video shows Henrik Stephansen of Denmark breaking his own world record for lightweight men (besting his previous performance by over a second, from 5:58.5 to 5:57.4), and (amazingly), judging from his appearance following the test, he looks as though he could have gone even faster in his current form.

Not long ago, Cédric Berrest set a new French record for 2k, posting a 5:44.6 on a stationary 'ergo,' and, more recently, defending Olympic champion Olaf Tufte posted a 5:46.9 at the Norwegian Indoor Rowing Championships, while Frida Svensson of Sweden won the women's event in Norway with a time of 6:48.4. Going the distance, Anna Watkins of Team GB set a new world record for 5k, with a 16:56.4 (1:41.6 avg/500m). And speaking of long-distance, Eric Murray's 60-minute test has been widely discussed, but his 2k result of 5:41.8 has flown largely under the radar. Rounding out the recent international scores, the Canadian men's lightweight group has posted some very competitive times, as evidenced by Rares Crisan's most recent blog post (which, in addition to including raw scores from the most recent 2k on sliders–6:04, 6:07, 6:08, and 6:10–shows Crisan's knowledge of and appreciation for the Wu-Tang Clan).

Domestically, friend of RR and UVA men's rowing alum Matt Miller was back in action at the Mid-Atlantic Erg Sprints last Saturday, and posted a 5:51.7 (dropping his score from last year by three seconds). Sarah Trowbridge (2011 U.S. national team member, placed ninth in the W2x in Bled with Kathleen Bertko), representing Potomac Boat Club, took first place in the open women's category at 'Mid-Atlantics,' with a time of 6:54.3. And last, but certainly not least, from the U.S. men's eight camp in Oakland, Beijing bronze medalist Steven Coppola recently congratulated Beijing boatmate Josh Inman for a 2x6k performance in which Inman managed two sub 19 minute pieces in a Twitter post.

Crash-Bs are just around the corner!

-RR

Popular posts from this blog

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States.
Read more

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b
Read more

RR Interview: Nick Trojan's New Feature on Yale Men's Rowing

Image
Nick Trojan's latest feature documentary is twice as long as his previous work—but leaves you wanting more, just the same.  There’s a new feature in Nick Trojan’s series, taking an inside look at top-tier college rowing programs in the US. This time, Trojan focused his project on Yale and the legendary coach Steve Gladstone, blending outstanding camerawork with one of rowing’s most compelling stories.  Having uploaded the video to YouTube only two weeks ago, it’s already approaching 70k views. And for good reason.  RR sat down recently to talk through it all with Trojan in an exclusive interview, from origins to development and finally a finished product—as well as what might come next. Here’s what we learned. Navigating shifting waters Elite rower turned filmmaker Nick Trojan’s new feature, titled simply, “Yale Men’s Rowing,” was years in the making.  “The initial idea was to do the same kind of rinse-and-repeat that we had done with Harvard and Cal,” Trojan says, “but I think wha
Read more

Video Of The Week: Holland Beker 2013

This week's video comes to us from the Bosbaan, where the 2013 Holland Beker saw truly elite, international competition over the weekend. Perhaps the most outstanding racing came in the women's single, where the A Final closely mirrored a world championship or Olympic final in recent years—the lineup included two-time Olympic champ Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, Kim Crow of Australia, New Zealand's Emma Twigg , reigning Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic, another two-time Olympic champion (albeit in the women's eight) in Eleanor Logan , and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist (also in the eight) Chantal Achterberg of Holland. As it turned out, the final was a wire-to-wire victory for Kim Crow, who looks to be on top form and may be the athlete to beat in this event for the foreseeable future, holding off both Karsten and Twigg in the closing stretch, with Knapkova finishing fourth. Elle Logan had another solid race in a great field, finishing just over
Read more

Best Rowing Drills: 5 Favorites of Olympic Champion Esther Lofgren

Image
Lofgren training in the single (Photo courtesy of Esther Lofgren) Olympic gold medalist Esther Lofgren is no stranger to success on the water. In addition to her podium-topping performance with the U.S. women's eight in London, Lofgren also won two world titles (2010, 2011), with her first international medal—a bronze—coming in the women's straight four in 2006. Here, Lofgren shares some insight into the drills that have helped her progress technically along the way.
Read more