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News and Features

February 23rd 1998

World Indoor Rowing Championships, February 22nd 1998, Boston USA

So much for "ergs don't float"

Geoffrey Knauth in Massachusetts

This year's World Erg Championships (also known as the CRASH-B's after their organisation by the "Charles River All Star Has-Beens" masters club), were an epic affair. Ex-international US coxswain Geoffrey Knauth, part of the organising committee, reports from the front lines.

Full results
Graphic version of official site
Concept II ergometers

Seven New World Records

5:39.5, Int'l Open Men, Rob Waddell, Cambridge, New Zealand

6:51.6, Master Men, Klaus Geiger (30), Tako RC

6:03.2, Int'l Lwt Men, Eskild Ebbesen, Denmark

6:03.8, Junior Men, Daniel Hausdorfer (18), Germany

6:06.7, Senior Men, Jim Brinsfield (45), Milwaukee

6:48.7, Master Women, Svetlana Maziv (30), Ukraine

6:51.6, Senior Women, Su Larcombe (40), Fitness Work Systems

Three New CRASH-B Records

6:56.2, Coxswain Men, Ben Nephew, Hobart College

6:01.2, Collegiate Open Women, Elena Menegakis, Northeastern

7:53.2, Coxswain Women, Stephanie Gaus, Harvard

Repeat Champions

7:06.0, Int'l Lwt Women, Lene Andersson, Denmark

Fastest Veterans

6:59.1 - 1:06 = 5:53.1, Veteran Men, Stephen Rounds (69), Carnegie Lake RA

7:18.8 - 0:00 = 7:18.8, Veteran Women, Merete Boldt (50), Fredensborg

And the stories from racing....

World Class Racers

Competition for the open event this year was amongst rowers who usually face each other on the water at World Championships. Rob Waddell, Jamie Koven and Greg Searle are world class single scullers, and Pavel Shurmei has raced in the Belarus Eight and Four. Shurmei in particular was delighted that this year the competition was among people who really are world class rowers.

Rob Waddell raced evenly and beautifully. Pavel Shurmei took an early large lead, but Waddell rowed through him to develop an equal lead over the field, rowing splits of 1:25 to 1:26 per 500m, and then driving his time below 5:40 at the end. He believes he can go faster, but at CRASH-B there are heats and finals on the same day, and so he was satisfied to have equalled the personal best he'd established in practice.

Pavel Shurmei from Minsk was aiming for 5:38 (he got silver with 5:46.6), but he had not practiced for two hard races in one day.

The older ones are the best ones...?

Former international rugby star Andy Ripley, earlier this year disappointed in his attempt to join the Cambridge Boat Race squad, yesterday set the record straight by winning his age group yet again at the CRASH-B's. This is his fourth straight category win, in a time of 6:07.7 minutes, only just outside his own world record for the 50-54 year olds. These championships use an age-adjusted formula for the veteran events which makes comparison a little harder, but Ripley's age of 50 had no handicap time to remove, and so his result is absolute and can be compared with the youngsters in the open men category, where he would have finished creditably high in the placings.

Another renowned GB veteran star, Sue Larcombe, posted a new world record in her bid for gold in Boston.

A brave attempt

Dan Beery from Chatanooga had just eaten a good lunch and was standing fully dressed in his blue jeans when, with 20 minutes to race time, he was told that since Harvard's Jon Lanken had withdrawn due to an injury, Beery could row in the Collegiate Heavyweight Men's Final if he so chose. He decided to go for it, and sickbags were readied behind the lines. When it was all over, Beery was glad not to have come in last in the final, and not to have lost his lunch either, though he said it was close!

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