RowingRelated

With the 2015 World Rowing Championships set to take place in Aiguebelette, France, we thought it only proper to take a look back at the last world championship regatta held there, when Jamie Koven took the title in the men's single in an all star-laden field. How did he pull it off? Take a look at the silky smooth technique he employed and you'll get a sense for why his bow crept out in front. There are so many reasons to like this video: Double Olympic champion (1992, 1996) André Willms' sunglasses; six-time Olympian Václav Chalupa's mustache and extra-large white tee underneath his uniform; Greg Searle uncorking yet another strong sprint to nearly take silver from Willms; Aly Ibrahim's (Egypt's most successful rowing athlete, competing at four Olympics) first 500m—a year earlier, Ibrahim had finished less than three seconds back of Rob Waddell in Atlanta, for eighth overall at the Olympic Games; and, of course, four-time Olympic medalist Iztok Čop ...

This past Sunday marked the 30th annual Crash-B Indoor Rowing World Championships, and there were some very familiar faces mixed in with a host of new ones in Boston. The University of Washington men dominated the Open event, with two elite level finishes from Conlin McCabe (overall winner in 5:48.0) and Hans Struzyna (second place overall in 5:52.6 -- he managed this while standing only 6'2" tall and weighing in at 185 lbs, according to the UW website). Is it just me, or is this maybe a statement about UW's intentions after last year's narrow defeat at the IRA? New York Athletic Club member and World Champion Jamie Koven showed that he still has much rowing ahead of him, crushing the Men's Masters (30-39) event in a time of 5:57 flat. This would be quite an achievement at any age, and is especially outstanding given the constraints his career places on his schedule. Outside of Koven, there was a noticeable lack of current men's US National Team members at...