RowingRelated

Our pick for the No. 2 moment in rowing this year goes to the Washington Huskies for sweeping the IRA Regatta for the second straight year—a very rare feat—despite losing Luke McGee to the U.S. national team early in the campaign. The Washington varsity eight had a season to remember, including wins against Cambridge (on the Boat Race course) and the Polish national crew (at Henley) in addition to another IRA title, but ultimately, the story once again for Washington was top-to-bottom dominance at the national level. Not only did the Huskies win all five races in Sacramento, but they won each of the eights races by more than a length en route to their unprecedented seventh straight Ten Eyck Trophy. Hats off once again to Michael Callahan and Rick Gherst for another great performance with the national title on the line in 2013. Our pick for the No. 1 rowing moment in 2013 is coming up tomorrow—until then, enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations (and Happy New Year to those ...

Without a doubt one of the most influential coaches in the history of our sport, Harry Parker was honored in the most fitting way in August, when members of Crimson crews ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s came together in Boston for the Harry Parker Memorial Row . Olympians like Charlie Hamlin , Tiff Wood , Adam Holland , and Malcolm Howard (among many others) were on hand, spread out among the roughly 50 crews that promenaded down the Charles past Newell Boathouse, where a banner that read simply, "Thank You, Harry," stretched across the building's crimson façade above the boat bay doors. While it marked a sad occasion, the event itself was a tremendous tribute to a legend in his own time, and one whose coaching resume may never be equalled. Our pick for No. 2 moment in rowing this year is coming up tomorrow! You can read more about the Harry Parker Memorial Row and further tributes to the legendary Harvard coach via the official website of the Crimson . -RR

The Kiwi Pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray are featured here quite a bit, and for good reason. While there's no shortage of records to their name, perhaps one of the most meaningful and long lasting will be the one that they set with their performance at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, where they eclipsed Ekaterina Karsten's number for most consecutive international victories —the tally so far? 16 . Among those international wins are four world titles and an Olympic gold medal, and, based on their recent performances on the erg , they don't show any signs of slowing down. The video above shows the duo shortly after their first international victory in the pair at the Munich world cup in 2009, on their way to winning the Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup—a race that set up a would-be rivalry with GB's top oarsmen Andy Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed that lasted through the 2011 season. This year, Bond and Murray won the event at Henle...

Today we kick off a five-day event here at RowingRelated, celebrating the top five moments in rowing from 2013—coming your way will be one of our top picks each day, with the overall top moment to be announced on January 1, 2014, just to get the New Year started off right. And so, without further ado, here's why Kjetil Borch's performance at the 49th Head Of The Charles is on our pick for No. 5. Not only did Norway's Kjetil Borch repeat as champion at the Head Of The Charles in 2013, he did so in record time. How remarkable was his performance? Borch bested the previous course record by some 17 seconds, backing up his victory at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in South Korea along with partner Nils Jakob Hoff (who also broke the previous course record in Boston, but finished roughly 11 seconds back of Borch). Listening to his FISA interview (above), Borch managed to prove himself something of a prophet: "We will make it to the final, and we will try to give ...

As 2013 draws to a close, the records continue to fall as the best rowers in the world push themselves to new heights. If there were any remaining questions about whether or not Eric Murray's 60-minute record, set on a dynamic erg in December of 2011 , meant something, then those questions have officially been put to rest.  In the above video, posted yesterday to the Kiwi Pair's YouTube Channel , Eric Murray set a new world record for the half marathon distance (21,097 meters) on a stationary erg, with a time of 1:07:58.1. The split? 1:36.6. Not to be outdone, his pair partner, Hamish Bond , also cranked out a new world record on the stationary erg, this time for a 60-minute piece, with a 1:37.5—a split that Bond (at 6'2" and roughly 200 lbs) maintained at a rate of 26 strokes per minute. Pumped out a Half Marathon/21097m test on the @concept2 this morning. Set a World Record in the progress ;) pic.twitter.com/iwFHaZTStX — KIWIPAIR (@kiwipair) December 23, 2013 ...

This week's double-feature is all about winter training, be it on land, or on camp. The above video comes to us from Bernhard Stomporowski of California Rowing Club , who is in Mexico City with the U.S. women's lightweight double training on the 1968 Olympics course. For athletes Kristin Hedstrom and Kate Bertko , it looks like the trip was timed just right, escaping the cold snap in Northern California (it was a frigid—get ready for this—37 degrees for about three hours one morning in San Francisco) and catching some rays at altitude (the real reason for the trip, no doubt). Meanwhile, in France, lightweight phenom Jérémie Azou was at it again, breaking the French official record for lightweight men in a time of 6:06.1 (though this is not a personal best—last year, Azou recorded an unofficial 6:02.9 before picking up a silver in the LM1x in Chungju). Given that this result comes from early December, it looks like Azou will be even faster this spring—though whether his...

The records have already started to fall early in this 2013-2014 indoor rowing season. Just a few weeks ago, California Rowing Club's Kate Bertko broke her own world record for 6k, recording a 21:45.3 having weighed in a 129.6 pounds  (smashing her previous record of 22:06.3 also set this year). And now, the 26-year-old Olympian  Roel Braas has continued to add to what has already been an outstanding year with a new Dutch record , posting a 5:43.7 after an all-out battle with the young  Stef Broenink (just 23 years of age), who finished close behind in 5:45.3.  Braas announced his candidacy for the podium at the world level with a victory over defending Olympic champion Mahé Drysdale at the 2013 Holland Beker , and backed up that performance with a fifth-place finish in Chungju in a hotly contested final, which saw all six scullers finish within 11 seconds of one another (Braas' time was roughly seven seconds short of world champion Ondrej Synek , and three sec...

It's nearly winter. For many a rowing program, there are many miles to be logged on the erg, weights to be lifted, body circuits to be done. And there are many people under the impression that those things are hard. Enter  Row2Recovery . Row2Recovery provides Para-Rowing to the British Military and partners with the charity Help for Heroes , which supports wounded veterans. The 2013 Row2Recovery crew, featured in the video above, is minutes away from embarking on a 3,000 mile journey across the Atlantic: The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge . The four servicemen are Lance Corporal Cayle Royce , Corporal Scott Blaney , Captain Mark Jenkins , and Captain James Kayll . Both Royce and Blaney suffered life-changing injuries while serving in Afghanistan (you can read the crew bios here ). Together, these men will compete against crews made up entirely of able-bodied rowers over a racecourse that spans an ocean. Now that, dear reader, is hard. The crew will be rowing more th...

Not only are the folks at California Rowing Club going fast, they're having a good time doing it. This week's video, courtesy of the one and only Bernhard Stomporowski , is one for the ages, offering a comprehensive look at a day in the life in Alameda, California, with a typically quirky soundtrack. The CRC athletes are shown sculling in mixed crews, logging miles on land, and even talking a little friendly smack between pieces in this training video, shot just prior to the West Coast Speed Order (hosted at the club). And it's not just banter, either: @rowingrelated @CRCBernhardHC @KBertko Kate weight in with at 1pm with 129.6 and started her test at 3pm and finished 21:45.3 later — B. Stomporowski (@CRCBernhardHC) November 18, 2013 Hey—we're not exactly sure what's going on over there, but whatever you're doing, keep doing it. Have a submission for 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your...

You don't go to the Olympics without pulling a solid 6k, and Will Daly is no exception to that rule—in fact, he just recorded the fastest lightweight men's score at the OKC High Performance Center earlier this month, with a 19:45.7 at the Midwest Speed Order. Here are Will's thoughts on putting together the right playlist for a 6k race piece: A 6k playlist has to be loud and full of energy. I like to start mine off with a song that is high energy, but not an anthem—something that is a little longer to really get you into the piece. In this case, I chose Teisto's "Love and Run." Then push the gas peddle down a little more with the Martin Garrix's new hit "Wizard." After that, we go into overdrive with "Stampede" by Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike vs DVBBS   &   Borgeous . SLVR and Antidote carry us through the real pain and grind. Finally, it's on to the sprint, and we have the huge anthem Tsunami to carry us home. I ...

Beijing Olympian and 2016 hopeful Will Daly is no stranger to logging high-quality miles on the erg. And, he knows just the kind of tunes that can help motivate you, whether you're knocking out an hour of power, or pushing through a 6k test. Our first installment is perfect for your Sunday afternoon workout—just over 60 minutes of music to help you stay focused and on point through your steady-state or controlled-rate piece. From Will: So I am big into EDM [electronic dance music], especially when working out. I think things that are up tempo and have a good beat make you want to stay active and keep moving. This playlist isn't overly energetic, with big anthems or too much Dub or Trap, but its something nice to get you through that hour of training. I am big into Rudimental right now, and I'm also a huge fan of the Avicii song, "You Make Me." I am also really into Hardwell at the moment. (Who isn't? He was just named #1 DJ of 2013. I recommend just putt...

This week's video comes to us from the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia, where a star-studded crew of Aussie international rowers took on an equally loaded K4 (kayak) over a 500m course. The conditions were a bit tricky, but these athletes make it look easy, and the race is quite a barnburner. The event, a publicity stunt done right for 776BC , has generated quite a buzz (the video, uploaded yesterday, already has over 14,000 views at time of writing), and for good reason—it's very cool that Olympians like 2012 silver medalists Josh Dunkley-Smith and Will Lockwood were willing to mix it up with pride on the line. While the K4 got the better of them this time, there's no shame in it—the crew of Tate Smith , David Smith , Murray Stewart , and Jacob Clear were Olympic champions in London. You can read more about the background of the race via the official website of the Australian Olympic Committee , as well as via Reddit . Have a submission for 'Video Of The We...

The fall racing season has drawn, in large part, to an end, and as we move into that ' long, dark, tea-time of the soul ' that is winter training, it's time to take a look back at the best performances of ' Michaelmas term .' There has been a great deal of change in collegiate rowing this season, with the passing of legendary coach Harry Parker and the subsequent appointment of long-time Harvard Lightweight coach Charley Butt to the position of Bolles-Parker Head Coach for Harvard Men's Heavyweight Crew , and a host of new talent rising to the intercollegiate ranks after stellar junior careers. The fall also saw a handful of young programs challenging perennial contenders, no shortage of speed at the international level, and the first opportunities for rivals to lock horns (but hopefully not oars) on the water, setting the stage for what will surely be an epic spring season. Let's take a look, shall we?

This week's video comes to us from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where the summer racing season has nearly arrived even as we in the Northern Hemisphere prepare to tackle winter training (of that, more later). While it's little more than one minute in length, you'll be excited to race by the time it draws to a close. This isn't the first time we've featured the UCT crew—they produced this awesome video back in 2011—and, given what we've seen so far, it likely won't be the last. The clip above comes from a longer video showcasing all the sports offered at the university (for the full version, click here ). It has been a busy week behind the scenes at RR, as I've been quite busy putting together two year-end features for the upcoming issue of Rowing Magazine. It has been quite a busy week on the water as well, and we'll have some thoughts and opinions on the teams to watch entering the 2014 season, coming up soon here on RR. Als...

This week's video gives us a behind the scenes look at the University of Washington Huskies as they prepare for and race the Head of the Lake, which took place over the weekend in Seattle. The video, brought to you by freshman Kevin Shoop , kicks off with shots of the Huskies warming up in the Conibear Shellhouse, and follows their progress through the day. The Huskies have enjoyed a series of seasons at the top, and capped off an undefeated season in the varsity eight—including winning the Head Of The Charles, defeating the Cambridge Blue Boat in their Tideway Fixture, and winning their third-straight IRA title—as part of the Huskies' second-straight sweep of the IRA Regatta in June. This year, the Huskies may have an even greater task on their hands, with the 'other' Huskies on the rise at Northeastern , a very strong program at Brown , Harvard looking very quick on home water, California back in the mix for the medals at the varsity level after a fifth-place fini...

While we're anticipating another good weekend of racing, with data from the Head Of The Charles, the Head of the Schuylkill, and the Princeton Chase already available for rowing hot stove discussions, it's nearly time to get serious again. But before we do that, we'd be remiss if we didn't celebrate some of the best rowing Halloween costumes of the 2013 season. And, never short on banter, Mike Gennaro and his fellow teammates on the U.S. squad brought their A-game to Lake Carnegie this morning. That @Mike_Gennaro is such a hot dog. #Halloween pic.twitter.com/dmN8MKDzXv — Erik Dresser (@erikdresser) October 31, 2013 While Gennaro may be the first-ever hot dog to do pieces in a pair, Grant James was keeping things in order in the bow, though the rowing was a bit, robotic (sorry).

This week's double-feature is thanks to your submissions, and showcases two equally well executed, yet totally different approaches to the recruiting video. In fact, I hesitate to use the term recruiting video, lest it cheapen the efforts of the filmmakers here—from the variety of shots, to the careful editing, to the clear narrative that each video follows, these films are fine pieces of work. In the above video, Chris Mare introduces us to Sagamore Rowing Association in a piece that gives an impression of the variety of boat classes, the skill and technique involved, and the natural beauty of rowing and sculling, all without a single spoken word. Our second feature comes from Julien Rodier and the University of Vermont , where we are shown the full arc of a season of training in seven minutes, thoughtfully narrated and capped off with a great line: "We have our own lives, our own aspirations, our own goals. But when we get in that boat, we are one—one life, one aspira...

Last weekend in Boston saw many records fall, and new stars rise. Indeed, as pointed out by World Rowing , ideal weather conditions and tremendous talent came together to produce no fewer than 20 new course records. Also, given the proliferation of digital video cameras on the water, it was perhaps the most well-documented race in the 49-year history of the event (see above—and thanks to Phil Hoyle of Potomac Boat Club for submitting what is likely the first-ever 'five-seat view' Charles race video). The competition was heavily laden with international stars in our sport, and the men's championship single event was a prime example, featuring newly crowned world champions Kjetil Borch and Nils Jakob Hoff of Norway, defending Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale , U.S. Olympian Tom Paradiso , and several U.S. athletes recently returned from sculling events in Chungju in the form of  John Graves , Ben Dann , and Willy Cowles . Not only did Borch repeat as champion, he crushed ...

The 2013 Head Of The Charles is in the books, and the 49th edition of rowing's 'Fall Classic' had all the drama, close finishes, and great racing that so characterize the event. A great deal of international talent was on display throughout the weekend, with the above crew from Michigan—stroked by 2012 U.S. Olympian Tom Peszek —taking fourth place in the men's alumni eight on Saturday afternoon, just three seconds back of a Cambridge alumni crew (Crabtree) stroked by double Olympic gold medalist Tom James of Great Britain. The Michigan crew donned special uniforms, designed by the late Bill Schnittman , in honor of their fallen Wolverine teammate. The championship events were, as usual, loaded—we'll take a closer look at our favorite moments from the 2013 Charles later this week. In the meantime, you can get caught up on all the action in Boston , and view complete regatta results , via the official website of the Head Of The Charles. Also on tap are more of yo...

Wolf racing the Head Of The Charles (Photo courtesy Igor Belakovskiy ) The Head Of The Charles is looming ever larger this weekend, and the rowing world has already begun to descend upon Boston. The Charles is a fantastic, fun race, and a challenging course. Here, we check in with friend of RR Sean Wolf of Riverside Boat Club and Rowing Illustrated —a man who has spent many morning and evening flying down that famous stretch of river—about what he feels are the most difficult turns on the course, and how to approach them. RR: I’m not calling you old, but you’re one of the ‘venerable’ (old) Charles competitors, so it seemed only right to check in with you on what you feel is the most difficult turn at the Head Of The Charles, and how to handle it. Sean Wolf: [Laughs] It’s a good question. Everyone talks about [John W.]   Weeks Bridge —I always stress to people that it’s not so much about messing up as you begin the turn, it’s how you recover from a mistake. Sometimes peopl...

It's Charles week! In honor of that most famous parade through the heart of Boston, we're taking a look at the hard work that it takes to get there. Maritime Rowing Club's men's masters crew is entered in the men's club eight event for Saturday afternoon, and features 2009 USRowing U23 national teamer Nate Kelly (formerly of Trinity College) in the stroke seat, and former junior and U23 national team oarsman Brendan McEwan (a Georgetown alum) in the six seat. Not only does the above video involve some nifty editing and camera work, it sums of the kind of fall training that every crew headed to Cambridge this weekend will have done in preparation for the biggest rowing event in the U.S. For more information on the Head Of The Charles —now just a few short days away—visit their official website, and for entries and schedules, head over to RegattaCentral . Over the past few days, we've received some pretty outstanding rowing recruiting videos from you, our b...

Thanks to your submissions, we've pieced together the above erg(o) training mix to get you ready to tackle your 10k steady state, interval training, or whatever your assignment may be in style. It's bass-heavy and electronic, adding an element of rhythm. Also, we've left just a little more room for additions, in case there's a favorite of yours that you don't already see included.  While we can discuss the problems and benefits of having music during training (having trained with coaches on both sides of that fence), we hope you enjoy it, and use it (or not) as you see fit.  And yes, we just made you a mixtape.  -RR

The Gauchos have stepped up their game. The 2013 spring season was one for the record books at UCSB, winning the Cal Cup at San Diego Crew Classic , as well as an ACRA victory in the men's lightweight varsity four, while the women's varsity eight took second behind Grand Valley State at ACRAs. The above video is their 2013-2014 recruiting video, and clearly they've gone the extra mile here, too—nicely edited to match the soundtrack, and a variety of camera angles on the water, land training, and a whole montage of coxswain tosses. Hey, it was that kind of season. Last year, we ran our first-ever RRecruiting Video Contest , and we counted down our top five entries en route to crowning an overall winner. While most varsity programs have year-round recruiting programs and a host of resources dedicated to that purpose, the club system renews its search for the next Seth Weil , or Amy Fuller Kearney (herself a former UCSB rower), or Bryan Volpenhein . Have you been puttin...

The above feature comes to us from the prolific rowing filmmaker, Mike Nicholson , and is the latest in a series of rowing documentaries that Nicholson has out together detailing the sport's past and present. Here, finally, we not only get a sense for the other athletes and for the regatta itself, but also for Nicholson's own background—a life that has been closely tied to rowing from an early age. And, to the delight of rowing enthusiasts and historians alike, his passion for filming and documenting our sport goes back almost as far. Even better—his work is posted to his YouTube Channel , available to all for free. Here, we catch up with Mike on his personal background in rowing and as a filmmaker.

Seth Weil had a phenomenal year. Having begun his career as a club oarsman at the University of California, Davis, under head coach Sam Sweitzer , Weil began training in the single shortly after finishing his intercollegiate career, first at his old program, then at GMS , and finally under the tutelage of Carlos Dinares . Then, following roughly a year of training at Lake Samish, an opportunity to attend a training camp at Chula Vista with the U.S. national team arose. Weil immediately made an impression, despite not having rowed as a sweep oarsman in some time, and began to rise through the ranks. With pair partner Henrik Rummel , Weil won the NSR I, and from there earned a seat in what had been deemed the top priority crew for the U.S.: the men's four. Lucerne was the site of the third World Rowing Cup this season, and Weil and the U.S. men's four immediately made an impression , winning the heat and setting themselves up as probable favorites to take gold in the final. An...

The folks at WSV Ottensheim have done it again. After their first video, "Rowing is Passion" (which was featured in our RR Recruiting Video Contest in January of this year), reached over 100,000 views on YouTube, filmmaker Erwin Trummer and WSV Ottensheim decided to add a second episode—the aptly named, "Rowing is Passion 2"—picking up on the intensity of the first, but incorporating a few new twists. Our favorite of those twists has got to be the 'rowing phalanx' and subsequent charge (see above) that launches the viewer into some race footage with a pulse-pounding soundtrack. Nothing like a little rage to get the fall racing season started right. Well done once again to WSV Ottensheim, and thanks very much to Clemens for sending along the video! Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your suggestion via Twitter or get in touch via our Facebook or Google+ pages. -RR

It has been a quiet week here at RowingRelated as we gear up to take on our fourth season of rowing coverage, analysis, and banter—but not so around the junior, collegiate, and elite rowing ranks. The new season has begun already for many programs, and, thanks to the wonders of social media, we're right alongside the coaches and athletes on the water for autumn training sessions, and on land for early-season erg tests. Here are a few of our favorite shots from the early going at the intercollegiate level: Here are the Bears after conquering Half Dome this past weekend. #7milesup #5000feetclimb #GoBears pic.twitter.com/uzkoh2CCct — California Crew (@CaliforniaCrew) September 26, 2013

Yes, 2013 is a post-Olympic year, and naturally, one might expect there to be a slight dip in performance at the international level at the outset of a new Olympic cycle. But not so this season. The elite level of rowing enjoyed one of its most successful world championships to date, with the largest number of federations ever involved (73, up from 68 at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia) kicking off the quadrennium in style, and a mixture of new and familiar faces on the podium. And so, the 2013 RoRys for the elite level go to... RoRy for Program of the Year USRowing, Curtis Jordan Even though it'll likely make Pete Cipollone spit out his coffee when he hears us say it (just kidding, Pete), and much as we have been critical of USRowing in the past, we must admit that this season proved to be eye-opening not only for the folks at home, but also for the rowing world at large. Despite losing the men's head coach shortly after the Olympics, new high per...

We're on to the next level of the 2013 RoRys, and there's a great deal to celebrate from the world of intercollegiate rowing this season. It was a season characterized by dynasties further adding to their incredible legacies, as well as of newcomers making a name for themselves at the highest level. And so, after much deliberation, and without further ado, the winners of the 2013 RoRys at the intercollegiate level are... RoRys for Programs of the year University of Washington Men Despite losing one of the best coaches in the collegiate ranks—newly appointed USRowing men's coach Luke McGee—in the middle of the season, the Huskies of Washington showed that they were by no means ready to loosen their vise-grip on the Ten Eyck Trophy. Head coach Mike Callahan and assistant coach Rick Gherst not only stayed the course and pushed their athletes to achieve at the highest level, but also they did it while training new Husky coaches, who stepped up in the absence of McGee. Hav...

The 2013 season is now complete, and it's time to reflect on the outstanding achievements from another year of racing in that most wonderful of all sports, rowing. Not that we're feeling old, but RR is fast approaching its third birthday—this marks the third edition of our RoRy Awards, and, since we cover three tiers of racing here at RowingRelated, we'll be recognizing and celebrating the best of the best at the junior, collegiate, and elite levels throughout the week. And so, without further ado, the 2013 RoRys go to... RoRys for Programs of the Year Narragansett Boat Club Men Narragansett Boat Club had a tremendous regatta at USRowing youth nationals in June, in the midst of considerable emotional turmoil. Top talent Chase Buchholz and his NBC teammates honored the memory of their coach Peter Wilhelm's mother, Hope, with two gold medals in Oak Ridge. En route to gold, Buchholz defeated the defending champion, Chris Wales of Seattle Rowing Center, in the men...

This week's video comes to us from the University of Victoria , and features the Vikes on their August training camp, already starting to build a base for the 2013-2014 season. Throw in a solid soundtrack, and you might just be inspired to throw down a few meters (or metres) yourself, be it on the erg, in the single, on the bike, or even on the track. Like the Vikes, we too are already looking forward to a new season (the Head Of The Charles is now just 39 days away), but we're also still decompressing from what was an outstanding summer of international racing, especially for the U.S. men and women. So, as we start to gear up for the next go round, we'll also be reflecting on the last year with our third annual RoRy Awards —the most sought-after, highly-prized, and distinguished awards in the rowing world (in our opinion, at least). Stay tuned for more on that this week. In the meantime, send us your favorite workout jams for a new erg(o) playlist to get you start...

The 2013 World Rowing Championships were, by all accounts, one of the best championships to date, with state-of-the-art facilities, good racing conditions, and a host of talented athletes coming together to officially embark on the Road to Rio. Photo from the awards ceremony of the Men's Eight yesterday! #ChungjuWRC @TomPeszek pic.twitter.com/KqyCGZUO3H — OKCNHPC Rowing (@RowOKC_HP) September 2, 2013 Before the slew of hotly contested finals, however, we did it again—what can we say? Shooting our mouths off about sports just comes naturally, and what you might call the 'RR ethos' is built on picks and predictions. So, now's the time when we reflect on the best of the racing, and see how our picks fared over the course of the week in South Korea.

This week's video comes to us courtesy of FISA commentator and GB Olympian Martin Cross , who had a fantastic week in South Korea, posting daily blogs and video interviews throughout the world championships. This interview, however, may be one of the most important, checking in with Team GB head coach Jürgen Grobler —possibly the best rowing coach in the world right now. In typical fashion, Grobler's crews had a slight performance dip at Lucerne, but were extremely well-prepared for the main event. Team GB were one of four federations to take home a total of eight medals from the championships, and tied for the most gold medals (three) with Italy and Australia. Among those gold medals was (rather unbelievably) British Rowing's first-ever world championship title in the men's eight—a first for Grobler in that event as well. More to come on this year's World Rowing Championships in our recap and review later this week. In the meantime, however, and speaking of J...

The further we get into the 2013 World Rowing Championships, the more it feels like there is already a 'great wave' (with apologies to Katsushika Hokusai, of course) of momentum building on the road to Rio. The racing has been, in a word, outstanding. In the video above, GB commentator Martin Cross breaks down Day Five at worlds, which featured several crackers, including the A/B semis for the the men's lightweight single and the men's four. As Cross mentioned in his race commentary (catch up on the semis here ), the men's four event appears to be wide open, with our top picks the U.S., Australia, and Italy looking very solid, as well as a sprinting Dutch crew and a surprising British boat that has bounced back from a B Final performance in Lucerne to crack the A final in Chungju. (While Cross mentioned that he'll have his eye on Italy to top the podium, we're backing our top pick, USA, to take the title.) The race of the day, however, may well have been ...

This week's video is the official teaser for the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea, and features the theme song for the event, "Rowing the World," (or at least, we think that's the title). It's always fascinating to take a look at a familiar subject through the lens of a different culture, and that's just what you'll get from this video (in addition to a look at the racecourse and environs, with a bit of rowing thrown into the mix). Also on the docket for this week is Team USA men's single sculler Stephen Whelpley's short video of the trip from the hotel to the course—it's a beautiful landscape, and gives you a better sense for what it's like to be on the ground in Chungju. The racing is heating up, and our picks and predictions are already being put to the test! So far, the U.S. women's quad of Megan Kalmoe , Kara Kohler , Susan Francia , and Esther Lofgren have given themselves a second chance at the podi...

The 2013 World Rowing Championships are underway in Chungju, South Korea, and it just wouldn't be right if we didn't throw our hats in the ring for some picks and predictions for the finals. While some post-Olympic regattas have been low on entries at the international level, this year's worlds feature more nations than ever, and there are a number of events where rivalries are already emerging on the road to Rio. And so, without further ado, here are the results of our glimpse into the crystal ball, hidden deep within the confines of the RR International Research Department. Men's Pair The Kiwis own this event, and, as pointed out by World Rowing's preview article on the upcoming championships, they are set to break yet another record—that being for the longest streak of consecutive wins at the international level. It's an event that other rowing federations have deemed low priority (in a number of cases), which has everything to do with Hamish Bond and Er...