Rowing: Elite Status – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
It has been a memorable summer for current and former Ohio State rowers. Not only did two present student-athletes leave their mark at the 2008 World Rowing Under-23 Championships, but a past Buckeye champion took her performance to an even higher level at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
After wrapping up the 2007-08 season in June, junior Claudia Wurzel and senior Zuzanna Trzcinska returned to Europe where they competed for their native countries at the prestigious World U-23 championships in Brandenburg, Germany, July 17-20.
Wurzel, who hails from Como, Italy, rowed in the bow of the Women’s Four and helped the Italians win the gold medal. It was a dramatic affair in the final of the BW4+ as the Italians edged the Netherlands by a little more than two seconds. The Italian crew clocked in at 7:03.88, while the Netherlands crossed the line in 7:05.72. The Italian lineup fell behind as far as third at the 1,000-meter mark, before taking a permanent lead 1,500 meters into the race.
Trzcinska, who calls Ilawa, Poland, home sat in the four seat for the Polish squad and guided the crew to a silver medal. Poland owned the lead through the 1,000-meter point, but was unable to hold off the United States, who crossed at 6:35.98, four seconds ahead of Poland’s time of 6:39.34.
Just when it appeared Ohio State head coach Andy Teitelbaum had sent his student-athletes off on their own to compete at the highest level possible, he was challenged in that thinking when one of his former pupils earned a seat on the U.S. Women’s Quadruple Scull for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Margot Shumway, a Buckeye letterwinner in 2001 and 2002, and the U.S. advanced to the A’ Final and finished fifth amongst a tough contingent.
En route to the final, the quad, with Shumway rowing stroke, began its Olympic quest Aug. 10 against a field noted for their rowing smarts that included Great Britain, Germany and Australia. Although the U.S. did not win the race, they finished second in the Repechage the following competition to earn a coveted bid into the final.
With the return of Trzcinska and Wurzel for the 2008-09 season, there are promising expectations in the here and now for the Scarlet and Gray. After witnessing the hard work and dedication of Shumway, it gives all current and future Buckeyes the belief they can have a rowing career far beyond college that includes competing amongst the greatest in the most esteemed competitions in the world.
