Teen rowers team up for charity
Daly, Lathrop tackle Head of the Charles
Youth, as they say, must be served.
To that extent, America’s future in rowing will be on display this weekend when a pair of burgeoning 13-yearold oarsmen, Quinlan Daly and George Lathrop of East Norwalk, Conn., compete in the men’s youth doubles at the annual Head of the Charles Regatta.
Daly and Lathrop rowed together last weekend in the smaller Head of the Quinobequin, also on the Charles River. Rowing for the first time in singles and against older competition in the under-15 category, Daly posted a time of 15:19 while Lathrop finished in 17:29.5. Afterward, the duo were able to take out the shell they will use for Sunday’s 11 a.m. race.
“We had a chance to check out the double (shell). It went pretty well. I got a real good feel for the wind and the turns on the river. We also got a feel for the distance,” said Daly, who as the bow man will be the one most responsible for making sure the boat goes straight. “We made sure we scoped out everything. Our big thing is we want to make sure we row straight and have a good line. No surprises. We want to be ready for everything.
“The coaches matched us up and it’s been pretty cool. We’ve become friends and rowing (partners),” added Daly, who attends the Middlesex Middle School in Darien, Conn. “The best part about rowing, for me, and some people may think this is weird, but when you’re on the ergometer (rowing) machine and you’re pulling hard. When you finish it, it’s awesome.’’
Lathrop has been rowing for three years and hopes to don a Harvard jersey one day.
“For me, it’s more than just rowing, rowing, rowing. It’s both a physical and a mental challenge. It’s also about pushing yourself,” Lathrop said. “The big challenge in the Head of the Charles will be going up against bigger rowers. But we’re going to row hard and do our best. The challenge in the Head of the Charles is always the twists and turns, but I’m also grateful to have the chance to row alongside some of the best rowers in the world.”
The path to becoming novice rowers came when Ashley Bekton, George’s mom, began to research sports that her son could take up that would be the least likely to produce a concussion-type injury. She found crew.
“I knew nothing at all about the sport. I got George into rowing because I didn’t want him playing a big concussion-esque sport. I researched sports that would be good for teenage boys and I came across rowing,” she said. “I’m excited for the boys. They set a goal for themselves and this is the realization of that goal. The best part is they’re doing it for a charity, which they picked.”
The teenagers are rowing to raise money to support Children of Fallen Patriots, an organization that sends children, who lost a parent in the line of duty, to college.
“Often times, people don’t think of that long term so it’s very nice,” Bekton said.
Quinlan’s mom, Susan Daly, added, “They’re great kids. They’re very motivated rowers, too.”
The two pals row out of the Maritime Rowing Club in Norwalk, which has produced Olympic rowers like former Harvard standout Andrew Campbell and Yale product Charlie Cole. They train under the husbandwife duo of Yan and Olga Vengerovskiy and their son, Roman.
“We have a longstanding tradition here at the Maritime Boathouse. It’s our passion, our life. We take a lot of pride in what we do,” Roman Vengerovskiy said. “Both boys have been rowing since the sixth grade so they have substantial experience in terms of sculling. Both (Campbell and Cole) began rowing in our club much like George and Quin and they went on to the Olympics so the boys can certainly see the success that they’ve had. We haven’t put any pressure on the boys. They will be the youngest in the men’s youth doubles event and we want them to compete and have fun and I know that they will do their best.”