THE ATENEO Rowing Team (ART) made history as the first Philippine university team to compete in the 2021 World Rowing Indoor Championships (WRICH) held virtually last February 24 and 27. The Blue and White was represented by ART Team Captain Joachim de Jesus and Lady Eagles Alyssa Go, Wylene Lu, Kyra Sandejas, and Mireille Qua.

WRICH is an annual event organized by the World Rowing Federation for athletes who advanced from either of the two qualification pathways: Continental and Open. This year, over 700 athletes from 63 nations worldwide qualified and raced virtually in real time against other competitors in their respective categories.

In the first race, de Jesus bannered the Blue and White with an eighth place finish behind a time of 01:30.5 in the Under-23 Lightweight Men’s 500m category.

On the women’s side, Go led the Lady Eagles to a sixth place finish in the Under-23 Lightweight Women’s 500m division with a time of 01:46.0. Fellow Lady Eagles Lu and Sandejas finished a few seconds behind her at the eighth and ninth spots, clocking in at 01:48.8 and 01:49.0 respectively. Meanwhile, Qua’s 01:42.8 finish earned her 13th place in the Under-23 Open Women’s 500m race.

Although the ART failed to secure a podium finish, de Jesus remained proud of his team after making history in the world rowing tournament. “The night before each race, I wanted to assure each of my teammates that the sole fact that we’ve reached the championship finale was already history in the making for our school and country,” de Jesus assured. “I told them that no matter what would happen in the race, no matter what result, they’ve already made our team, captains, coach, and school proud,” he added.

While the 2021 WRICH is over, the ART continues to train online and await for new opportunities to compete once again.