The Tribune

William Stanhope closed out his first 2017 World Rowing U-23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on Sunday.

Contesting the Men’s Single Scull, 19-year-old Stanhope rowed The Bahamas to a ranking of 24th in the world. Battling a bout of food poisoning while recovering from two races the previous day, Stanhope finished out his D Final with an official time of 7:32.25.

“It was great to be pushed beyond what I perceived as my limit,” said Stanhope as he reflected on his performance as the first Bahamian to race in a under-23 championship regatta.

“The amount of experience that I gained competing in this regatta was absolutely invaluable. I hope to see more younger Bahamians pick up rowing in the future, so that we can start to field larger boat classes.”

The D final featured rowers from Finland, Lithuania, the United States, Russia and Italy. Canada took the gold in the event, with a time of 6:49.35, South Africa placed second with 6:52.09 and Poland placed third in 6:44.03.

The World Rowing U-23 World Championships featured crews from 54 different nations.

“William had a strong regatta learning and improving from race to race,” said Bahamas coach and team manager Henry Palmer, who is also head coach of Boston College men’s rowing as he assessed Stanhope’s run at the regatta.

“As William’s first appearance at U23s, it was a great opportunity to line up against some of the fastest scullers from around the globe. We look forward to returning in the future even stronger and faster. “

Looking ahead, Stanhope will move to Melbourne, Florida, to begin his collegiate rowing career as a freshman at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Emily Morley, the country’s premier elite rower, and president of the Nassau Rowing Club, was elated by Stanhope’s performance.

“I am excited to see William develop his rowing skills even more whilst at college,” she said. “His showing at U23’s was very impressive, but with more time to get comfortable with pushing his limits and being in the single he is sure to come back to competition even more equipped to race.”

Morley will be representing the Bahamas at the World Rowing Senior Championships to be held at the Nathan Benderson Park in Bradenton, Florida, September 23 to October 1, racing in the Women’s Single Sculls event.

In August, the Nassau Rowing Club will celebrate five years of being the first rowing club in the Bahamas, and pipeline for every national team athlete and crew to represent the Bahamas at major regattas around the world.

The Nassau Rowing Club is sponsored by Holowesko Pyfrom Fletcher (Platinum), Asa H Pritchard, Subway (Gold), W E Services, Cacique International Limited, Nature’s Way Nursery, Replay Destination (Bahamas) Ltd, Mosko Realty Ltd, Lightbourne Marine, Island Pavers (Silver), ThinkSimple, Phoenix Aviation T/A Odyssey Aviation, W E Service- Ford, Bahamas Waste, Oasis Landscape Limited, Bahamian Brewery, Cole Insurance (Bronze).

The Nassau Rowing Club is also proudly supported by Cable Cares.