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Tralee Rowing Club member James Morris with current World Champions Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll from Skibbereen Rowing Club and with Gary Quin from Shandon Boat Club.
A TRALEE rower recently competed in the largest two day regatta in the world.
Thousands of competitors and spectators gathered for the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, USA, last Saturday and Sunday.
Tralee Rowing Club member James Morris competed in two categories, one of them in a quad with current World Champions Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll from Skibbereen Rowing Club and with Gary Quin from Shandon Boat Club.
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Gary and James raced the Mens Masters 2x on Saturday in a field of ex-Olympians and other top American and International Club athletes. Although they didn’t win a medal they were very satisfied with their result.
On Sunday they teamed up in the 4x with Shane and Mark, current LM2- World Champions, who are friends of Gary’s from the Cork rowing scene. Their boat was called “The luck of the Irish”.
Before heading to Boston, James said that is “a real privilege to race with these exceptional athletes”. He added that; “aside from their one-in-a-million physiological attributes, their knowledge and skill is immense and they give of it freely, but in the boat we are all part of a unit that must fall in and bend together like a reed when the pressure is on and rise to the challenge when the moment to strike presents! E pluribus Unum!”
It involved a lot of hard work for James and Gary to get to this level and secure a place in the Head of the Charles.
“We usually train in the morning before work at 6:30 am and during lunchtime and occasionally in the evening if possible. We text our daily performance results to each other and monitor progress, adjusting all the time, identifying and improving weaknesses and maintaining strengths.
“Staying injury free is paramount at Masters level, but maximal strength is excellent and endurance ability undiminished, recovery is a whole lot longer though, that’s the only material difference between now and 20 years ago.
The sessions are shorter now but more intense as we both have a large aerobic base built up over the years, and with time tight with busy family life and demanding jobs, you have to train and work smart to get the most out of the little time left over!
The rule is: Family first, then work, then training. Like every busy person, time scarcity makes you work and play more efficiently and do a better job too because you need to think about what you are doing all the time to make sure you do it right, no time for do-overs!”, explained James.
The Head of the Charles Regatta attracts over 11,000 participants and tens of thousands of spectators from all corners of the world, every year.
The competition was created in 1965 by the Cambridge Boat Club, Massachusetts, USA and it has a 3 miles course. For more information about the regatta please visit their website on www.hocr.org
Well done James . All ur hard work has paid off.