Champions Crowned at the 2020 C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championships

Each year the C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championships unites the best of rowing across junior, under 23, para and masters categories, including open and lightweights. While the event has produced record-breaking times since its inception in 1980, in more recent years, some of the most exciting results have come from junior athletes. This year was no different. 

Records were broken, new champions were crowned, and for the first time ever – in addition to the coveted C.R.A.S.H.-B. hammers – championship medals were awarded to the top three U.S. finishers in each event. Read on for a recap of race highlights and official times.

The championship kicked off at 9:00 am ET with the M85+, M80, M75, LM60, LM85+, LM80, LM75, LM70, M70, LM65, with category wins from George Demeritt (M85+), Alan McClennen (M80), Wyatt Hume (M75), Paul Siebach (LM60), Don Tanhauser (LM85+), Dave Watts (LM80), Brian Tucker (LM75), Keith Colburn (LM70), Larry O’Toole (M70), Tom Phillips (LM65) [RESULTS].  

At 9:15 am ET the W80, W65, LW85+, LW80, LW75, LW70, LW65, LW60, LW55, W60, W70, LW50 events began, with racing spanning many different age groups. Fan-favorite 98-year-old Dottie Stewart returned to the C.R.A.S.H. -B’s after her 2019 appearance, representing the top half of her 95-99 age bracket. Her participation is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. Category wins came from Luanne Mills (W80), Jayne Lytel (W65), Dottie Stewart (LW85+), Isako Egawa (LW80), Mari Friend (LW75), Majorie Elliot (LW70), Susan Gehrke (LW65), Patricia Montain (LW60), Saiya Remmler (LW55), Carla Dropo (W60), Patricia Smith (W70), and Megan Hyland (LW50)  [RESULTS].  

The 9:30 am ET M65, M60 and LM50 races included wins from Steve Krum (M65), Ken Gates (M60) and Carlos Reategui (LM50). [RESULTS]. 

At 9:45 am ET the W50, W55, LW43 races included wins from Mia Zierk (W50), Ellen Saint Clair (W55) and Laura Gassner Otting (LW43). Local fans were pleased to see a strong performance from Linda Muri as well, who finished third in the W55 category [RESULTS]. 

In the LM55, M55, LM36 and LM43 races at 10:00 am, John Dinsmore took first in the LM55, followed by category wins from John Tunnicliffe (M55), Jonathan Kotulski (LM36) and Stephen McKiernan (LM43) [RESULTS]. 

The W43, LW36 and W36 categories saw wins from Sara Forsting (W43), Ashley Sweeny (LW36) and Jordan Falcone. Falcone finished with the impressive time of 6:59.4, smartly pacing her piece start to finish [RESULTS]. 

At 10:30 am ET the M50 and LM27 events took off, with category wins from Andrew Benko (M50) and Robert McNamara (LM27). As of 2018 Benko is the current record holder in the M50 event, retaining that title thanks to his strong performance today [RESULTS].  

The W27 category at 10:45 am saw strong performances from Jacquelyn Burmeister, Libby Boghossian and Victoria Pascoe who took first, second and third, respectively [RESULTS].  

At 11:00 am the M43 and M36 events took off, with category wins from Pavel Shurmei (M34) and Ante Kusurin (M36). Shurmei is a Belarusian rower who competed at two Olympic Games (2004 and 2008) and holds multiple world records  [RESULTS].  

The M27 event started at 11:15 am, with strong showings from Jack Trimble, Pavlo Prykhodko and Andreas Tilelis who captured first, second and third, respectively [RESULTS].  

The racing then switched to the youngsters at 11:30 am and included the YM, YW, YW PR3-GD events, with athletes under the age of 14. These athletes raced the clock to see how far they could row over four minutes. Lancelot Workman posted the best result in the YM, with Rebecca Schmidt posting the strongest distance for the YW, and Abigail Dominguez in the YW PR3-GD [RESULTS].  

A true C.R.A.S.H.-B. fan favorite, “The Bullpen” event didn’t disappoint, with Timothy Labounko of Cambridge Boat Club posting the fastest time. This race gives folks who have registered late a chance to jump in on the action in a mixed-race format. Bullpen registrants are only eligible to medal in an event that occurs after the Bullpen race, but not before [RESULTS]. 

As the afternoon progressed, so did the racing, picking back up with the M/W PR1, PR2 and PR3 categories at 12:45 pm. Matthew Houser posted the fastest time in the MPR3 event, Lisa Chiango in the WPR3, Michal Gadowski and Jolanta Majka in the MPR2 and WPR2, respectively, both for team Poland, followed by Rene Campos Pereira in the MPR1 and Katherin Valdez in W U19 PR1 [RESULTS]. 

At 1:30 pm the junior events kicked off, starting with the JM U15 won by Matt Califano [RESULTS].

The winner of the 1:45 pm JM U17 category was Matthew Marks of Bedford Crew Club [RESULTS].

In a category with by far, the most entries of any event, Isaiah Harrison put on an incredible performance in the JM U19 event with a final time of 5:53.2, racing up a category as he is still eligible for JM U17. Savas Koutsouras took the silver, with Mack Carr in third for the bronze [RESULTS]. 

At 2:30 pm the JW U15 and JW U17 events kicked off, with category wins from Claire Uiterwyk (JW U15) and Reilly Katz with an impressive 7:08.9 [RESULTS].

The JW U19, like its male counterpart, boasted incredible depth. Winner Mia Levy put on quite a race start to finish, with Nina Weeldryer and Olivia Vavasour capturing second and third, respectively. The quickest FW was Brigid Bane who took the gold in her category. Olivia Viessmann won the LW27 event. [RESULTS].

Stephen Grant captured the gold for the FM category at 3:15pm with a time of 6:49.1. Flyweight men must weigh 140 lb. or less on race day to compete in the event  [RESULTS].

In the LW and LW U23 events at 3:30pm, Sophia Luwis captured the win for the LW, with Haley Higginbotham posting the fastest time within the LW U23 event [RESULTS].

The LM and LM U23 raced at 3:45pm, with wins from Alex Twist (LM) and Joshua Turk (LM U23). Turk in fact posted the fastest time in both the LM and LM U23 categories [RESULTS]. 

At 4:00pm the W and W U23 events kicked off, with exciting racing across both categories. Gabriela Thomas won gold in the W category with a time of 6:55.9, while Emily Winslow captured the win in the U23 event with a time of 7:17.5 [RESULTS]. 

The final event of the day was the M and M U23 categories. Marqus Brown (M) captured the coveted hammer and gold medal on behalf of Penn AC, finishing with a time of 6:00.7. Justin Steiner won the M U23 event on behalf of U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a time of 6:10.3  [RESULTS]. 

For a full list of the event schedule, erg assignments, and results, follow the link below.

C.R.A.S.H. B. Sprints