Port Rowing Varsity Women’s Team member Lindsay Rust rose in the ranks at the World Rowing Indoor Championships. Rust brought home a silver medal for junior lightweight women, beating out rowers from the U.S. and abroad. This was the first time that FISA, the World Rowing Federation which sets the rules and regulations for the practice of the sport, made this competition an official world championship.
Last year, Rust took home a bronze medal. This year’s outstanding finish places Rust as the second fastest 15 to 18-year-old, lightweight women in the world.
Rust, a Roslyn native, was joined by fellow teammates from the Port Rowing varsity teams at the World Rowing Indoor Champs. The two sets of siblings, Brooke and Brett Bossé, from Manhasset and sibling set, Graham and Witt Holmes from Port Washington, competed in separate age brackets. Graham earned a respectable spot in the top half of his field. While boat-mates on the water, Witt and Brett went head to head and placed fifth and sixth in the men’s U17 lightweight event. With 3.2 seconds between them, they beat out field of nearly 80 competitors in their category.
“I am very proud on the achievements of our rowers at the World Indoor Championships,” said Michiel Bartman, Director of Rowing and Head Men’s Coach at Port Rowing. “The result of Lindsay’s is very special as she repeated a medal performance for the second year in a row. The races of Witt Holmes and Brett Bossé show that we have two guys who are very competitive with each other and finish in the top six. As for the preparation, we have been working towards this event for weeks. With special workouts, test pieces, rest, race strategies, mental preparation, etc. The 2K on the rowing ergometer is one of the hardest physical test you can do.”
The competition held in Alexandria, VA, drew more than 2,000 competitors from 266 clubs worldwide, including 33 different countries. Once the Port Rowers completed their races, they travelled farther south to join fellow Port Rowing Varsity teammates for a weeklong training camp in Jacksonville, FL. The training in warm water conditions marked the unofficial start of the spring sprint season.
To learn more about Port Rowing, visit www.portrowing.com.
