OSU Athletes Rowing on the World Stage
By Sierra Bishop
I was very fortunate to compete in the mixed coxed quad for beach sprints and represent the US!
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Time trials go off one at a time, but the heat progression thereafter is head-to-head knockout style. The race starts with a gun and the coxswain running 30-50 meters down the beach to their boat while the rowers all jump in and get ready to begin rowing once the cox is secure. During this there are 2-3 boat handlers to help maintain control of the shell and push off when the cox makes the call. We then slalom around two buoys and approach a third where we make a 180 degree turn back (straight shot) to the beach. The race is only about 500m total. 250m out and back. We rate above a 40 at least because of the shorter front-end and longer back-end than flat water rowing. Once we are back approaching the beach, the bow-most rower prepares for their exit and attempts to time their jump out of the boat to optimize momentum that will propel them the 30-50m to the finish line where they hit a button on the ground to stop their time. It is an exhilarating race that feels like it ends as fast as it begins. The beach is always pumping with energy, creating a really fun environment for athletes and spectators alike.
I raced the women's quad for endurance in addition. The endurance event has a couple different formats depending on the conditions. Traditionally, there is a beach start similar to how the beach sprint race starts, but there are 12-18 athletes instead of the two going head-to-head. Or it is a water start, where all boats are floating behind the start line and begin once the gun goes off. When we were in Italy, it was a water start.
Once the boats are off, it is complete carnage through the buoys set up to create a course that challenges the steering prowess of even the most experienced navigators. 12-18 boats are jockeying the entire race to gain a favorable position until the finish line is crossed. Depending on conditions, the course is anywhere from 4k-6k. The average rate for these pieces is 32-36 to maximize power and momentum through the choppy conditions. The boats are tremendously heavier than flat-water shells, so to pick up the load you have to give it a bit more time. Especially once you factor in the waves. To finish the race it mimics the start. So either a water finish where competitors get called off once they cross a line. Or a beach finish where the bow-most athlete tracks their timing on the beach to jump out and sprint the 30-50 meters.
Our Beach Sprint knockout round against Italy. Scroll to time 2:47:00 to see our race.
Both race styles came with their own set of challenges, amazing learning opportunities, and overall really fun competitive vibes. It was a dream to spend a few weeks on Italian beaches with great teammates and to explore a part of the world I've only ever dreamed of. The hardest part of all coastal races is the tumultuous conditions you just come to expect. The wildest flatwater conditions your coach would never let you go out in are essentially the baseline for coastal. I hope to continue competing on the coastal team as it grows and am excited to see how the sport expands in the coming years.
Coastal rowing is gaining traction on the international stage, especially since the mens and women’s single and mixed double beach sprint events were picked up as an Olympic sport for LA28. There are two separate coastal events I competed in this summer, endurance and beach sprints. Every event is sculling only, including the single, double, and coxed quad. The boat design is much more durable than flat-water shells and has an open stern to allow for waves to flow out as you row. At this point, anyone interested can join the endurance team and submit themselves to the race, but the US Beach Sprint Team is created from a trials selection procedure.