On July 15th, the 2016 “Graceful Donghu” World-famous Universities Rowing Challenge and Cultural Exchange kicked off at Wuhan East Lake Scenic Spot. In the final rowing regatta on July 17th, the rowing team of Wuhan University continued their outstanding performance in last year’s competition and defended their victory as they timed 2 minutes 12.42 seconds in the 1000 m rowing competition. The rowing teams of Harvard University and the University of Cambridge respectively ranked the second and third place. The rowing regatta drew 17 rowing teams from 12 world top universities in all to take part in, including Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, Durham and so on. Among them, 5 teams were made up of girls.
Girls are checking their boat and oars before launching.
Female athletes are warming up before the competition.
The preliminary contest was held on July 16th. WHU rowing team made a low-key start during the first round and ranked the 5th. After their remarkable performance in the semi-final, WHU rowing team got through the group phase and faced a showdown with Harvard University rowing team in the final. “We’re aiming for the champion.” Wang Hao, rower of WHU rowing team, said confidently.
Along with the command“Attention! Go!” from the starter, the race began. During the first 300 meters, two teams were rowing neck and neck. But slowly, a gap began to form between them and become increasingly larger. At last, WHU Rowing team held the lead before the finishing line and defended their champion.
Wuhan University Rowing Team with President Li Xiaohong on the stage
The whole team cheered as the result was announced. “We were so close to losing in the preliminary contest. Even though there were a bit ups and downs, we finally topped the competition again.” Said Xia Hongyu, rower of WHU team. Xia also emphasized the significance of teamwork in rowing, since they had been practicing to cooperate with others all the time.
After the game, Zhou Xiuhua, coach of WHU Rowing Team, told the reporters: “Actually before the game, a lot of pressure was exerted on us, especially since we are the host and the champion of last year. Lots of supporters of our team come to see the competition. We are rowing for the champion and our tactic is going all out and staying ahead in the whole process.”
The Whole Crew of Wuhan University Rowing Team
William John Patrick Doran, rower from London University said that they had just finished a domestic rowing regatta two weeks ago and been trained with teammates before coming to Wuhan. One of the rowers from Harvard told the reporters that it was their first time in Wuhan. “I was actually happy about the result. It was really a tough race in a tough condition. I think persistence and teamwork matter most in rowing and we are looking forward to the next competition.”
The final also attracted hundreds of spectators to the competition site. One of them was a middle-aged lady, who is a morning exercise enthusiast. Every day, she jogs around the East Lake. She came by to watch the final competition and was really excited about meeting all the athletes from the world-famous universities.
Dang Dezhong, a rowing national referee from Chinese Rowing Association and also, the deputy referee of this competition, was in charge of the sign-in area and launching area. His main job was to check the identities of the athletes, as well as the weight of the helmsmen. According to him, the weight of male helmsman should be no less than 55 kg and the weight of female helmsman no less than 50 kg. Otherwise, the team will take an advantage in the game due to less total weight of the boat. He believed that this competition would greatly promote the popularization of rowing, making more and more people get to know rowing and participate in this activity. He also mentioned that those teams would continue their competition in several other regattas held in Hunan and Sichuan Province.
(Photo by Wu Jiamin, edited by Wu Siying & Hu Sijia)
