On August 22th, the rowing team of Wuhan University won the men’s championship in overwhelming superiority with 2min 10sec 56 in the 2015 Wuhan International Universities Rowing Race. The University of Amsterdam took the silver with 2 min 12 sec 59, and the University of Pavia got the third place with 2 min 13 sec 56.
At 9 am, 8 athletes from the Chuhang Aquatic Sports Club offered a thrilling performance on water arousing waves of loud applause and roars from the crowd gathered by the East Lake. After a brief opening ceremony, the International Universities Rowing Race commenced.
11 university teams competed in the Men’s eight single oar 800-meter race in three groups, including Yale University, University of London, University of Amsterdam, Wuhan University and so forth. Based on the joint rules of international rowing, the first places in each group and the best second place in three groups qualify for the final. After a fierce race, the rowing teams of University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, St. Petersburg University, Russia, University of Pavia, Italy and Wuhan University, China made it to the final.
At the beginning of the final, the University of Amsterdam, the winner of the game for two consecutive years, took the lead aided by the strength of its team members, while Wuhan University followed closely. Through tacit cooperation and good coordination, WHU surpassed the University of Amsterdam on the last 250 meters and won the gold medal.
Li Xiaohong, President of Wuhan University cheered for the athletes at Wuhan University. After the game, he highly praised athletes for their efforts and composure, and noted that WHU has created a sports culture characterized by cultivating talents both intellectually and physically.
In addition, the athletes of the 11 universities were invited to a variety of cultural activities such as visiting local families, experiencing local customs and so on, providing a platform for Chinese and foreign youth to communicate and exchange ideas, while promoting the city of Wuhan.
Organized in May, 2015, the WHU rowing team has grown rapidly. On July 15th, it took the silver in the first World Leading University Rowing Regatta, leaving Cambridge and Oxford, two dominant forces, defeated.
(Rewritten by Min Song, edited by Diana & Sijia Hu)
