Four members of the Queen’s Rowing teams took to Bulgarian waters this summer as part of the U23 World Rowing Championship.
Bob Bryden, Lucas Celia, and Andrew Hubbard of the Men’s Rowing team, and Claire Ellison from the Women’s Rowing team faced off against international competitors in Plovdiv, Bulgaria from July 19 to 23.
The tournament ended with mixed finishes for the Queen’s athletes.
Ellison finished third in the U23 Women’s Eight Final race, Bryden finished fifth in the U23 Men’s Pair Final B race, Celia finished third in the U23 Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls Final race, and Hubbard finished fourth in the U23 Men’s Double Sculls Final C race.
As one of the closest races of the tournament, Ellison’s team was decided by a photo finish. Her team finished a mere 0.06 seconds ahead of Great Britain to secure the bronze medal. Germany won silver and U.S.A. won Gold.
Celia won bronze, with a third place finish 6.31 seconds ahead of U.S.A. in the Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls Final—a goal he mentioned in an interview with The Journal. He finished
beyond Germany and Italy.
“It was awesome that I hit that stepping stone, but the finish line is yet to come,” he said.
Both Ellison and Celia discussed preparation for the championship prior to the race.
“At the beginning of spring, we were training two to three times a day, six days a week some days—sometimes even seven days in a row,” said Celia in an interview with The Journal.
Ellison detailed what training sessions looked like for her.
“We do a lot of on-water training, when we’re in season,” she said. “Putting in some really good technical work in the fall is sort of the first building block and then we’re inside for most of the winter and we’re doing training on IR’s [Indoor Rowers] and lots of time spent on stationary bikes, in the weight room.”
“Coming towards spring, I kind of headed out west right when the training camp opened at the start of May,” said Ellison. “We had about a month to prepare for when we started doing selection against a bunch of other athletes from across Canada.”
In terms of mental preparation, Celia said it’s important to start cool, calm, and collected.
“After a race we [say]: light, loose, and lit,” he said.
Both athletes shared what they are most looking forward to before the race.
“My thing I want to get the most out of this is to go fast with a bunch of my best friends,” Ellison said. “Rowing on these teams is a unique experience because [I had] to come together with a bunch of people I didn’t know that well beforehand, and figure out what makes you go fast.”
For those wanting to get involved in the excitement of rowing, Ellison mentioned novice programs provide participants with the chance to train with the team and race at the end of the season.
“It’s never too late to join and it’s a late entry sport,” she said. “I’d encourage anyone who’s ever thought about rowing to give it a try.”
Celia encouraged hopeful future rowers.
“Just give it the best you can on that day, each day give 100 per cent of what you can, and you will succeed,” said Celia.
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