Local rowers smash previous record
Attempt concluded week of activities
A group of Peterborough Rowing Club and Trent Excalibur rowers have claimed a world record.
Nine men and eight women rowed 1,000 kilometres on an ergometer (indoor rowing machine) in 64:09:59.9 from Thursday to Sunday. It smashed the previous Compact 2 (ergometer manufacturer) world record set in 2012 by a CrossFit gym in New Jersey by 19 hours, 57 minutes and 17 seconds.
It concluded a weekend of rowing at the Nassau Mills Road club which included the Peterborough High School Rowing Championships Sunday morning.
It was a grueling three days for the 17 rowers. They broke into pairs for 40 minute blocks alternating every 10 minutes on the single machine. Between blocks rowers refueled, hydrated and napped. Some camped in tents.
“It was definitely the number one most exhausting thing I have ever done,” said Lauren Temperley. “Your brain is always on and you’re not really able to rest. I know when we were done I was relieved and had so many emotions. “It was amazing to be a part of this.”
The row was the brainchild of Excalibur rower Graham Peeters and Matthew Hagopian. Peeters realized they were way ahead of pace 40 hours in.
“We didn’t celebrate until the end because we didn’t know if something would go wrong,” Peeters said, “like if the machine broke or the batteries wore out or someone got injured. There were a lot of things that could go wrong that would cost us the record”
The rest of the crew included Lexi Armstrong, Megan Benn, Dan Bullock, John Butler, Hannah Curtis, Matthew Dupuis, James Dyer, Evan Kopsal, Matt Seaby, Julianna Stonehouse, Elizabeth Trickey, Jennifer Tuters, Shane Willis and Megan Wurtele.
Thirty-two rowers from Adam Scott, St. Peter’s and Thomas A. Stewart raced Sunday to prepare for next weekend’s Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Championships in St. Catharines.
One of the medal hopefuls is the TASSS double of Bri Tombs and Roz Shepherd who last year were part of a bronze medal winning quad. The Grade 12 students have scholarships to join Trent’s program next fall. After one of their teammates last year graduated, Shepherd and Tombs formed a double. They finished third at a meet in Niagara last week.
“We spend a lot of time together,” said Tombs. “We get to know what the other needs to hear in the boat and what motivates them. We’ve been rowing together for a really long time,” said Shepherd. “Our strokes are starting to match up nicely. I’m finding it easier and easier. We row really well together.”