THE ATENEO Rowing Team (ART) secured multiple wins against various Asian national teams in the Asian Continental Qualifier Event for the 2021 World Rowing Indoor Championships last January 24. As the first Philippine-based university team to debut in a world rowing tournament, the Blue and White amassed podium finishes in two events.

In the women’s division, Shaina To placed third in the Under-23 Women’s 500m race. Meanwhile, Wylene Lu, Alyssa Go, and Kyra Sandejas dominated the top three spots, with Lu taking home first place in the Under-23 Lightweight Women’s 500m category. Lu’s gold medal finish officially qualified her for the 2021 World Rowing Indoor Championships.

On the other hand, Team Captain Joachim de Jesus led the Blue and White in the men’s division with a time of 1:29.7 in the Under-23 Lightweight Men’s 500m stint to bag fourth place. Daniel Cuajunco bagged a similar finish with a time of 1:31.5 in the Under-23 Men’s 500m category. Despite their stellar performances, both De Jesus and Cuajunco failed to qualify for the world championships.

Although Lu was the only Atenean qualifier for the world championships, ART Coach Nicanor Jasmin remained unfazed as the rest of the team still have a chance to qualify for the world championships via a soon-to-be-scheduled wildcard virtual race.

Jasmin also expressed his joy towards the team’s overall performance considering the team’s short preparation time. “It was [an] amazing performance for the Ateneo Rowing [Team], a milestone and [a] record that for the first time [in] a virtual indoor competition, someone from our team qualified for World Indoor [Championships],” Jasmin said. 

Similarly, De Jesus was proud that everyone was able to beat their personal best times during the competition. “We were able to keep up, break records, and introduce the Atenean name on the world stage. It was thrilling to watch everyone’s races, seeing the decimal differences, knowing how close we were to third, second, or qualification,” he said. 

The upcoming world championships will be held virtually on February 23-27.