ATENEO ROWING Team (ART) members representing the Philippines concluded the 2022 Asian Rowing Virtual Indoor Championships (ARVIC) on a high note after taking home two silver medals—one from the Men’s Team and another from the Women’s Team—on January 15.

The Hong Kong-hosted ARVIC featured rowers from all around Asia, with the competition held in a fully online set-up. Competing against a diverse set of opponents, the ART had representatives in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions. The Blue Eagles were represented in the Lightweight Under 23 (U23) 2000m and 500m races for both the Men’s and Women’s divisions, as well as the U23 Men’s 500m event.

First up in this year’s ARVIC were Joachim De Jesus and ART Captain EJ Obaña, who finished fifth and eighth respectively, in the U23 Lightweight Men’s 2000m. In the same event, the rest of the Blue Eagles fell behind, with rookies Erick Reyes, Enrique Espina, Lio Calderon, and Jacob Publico closing in at 15th to 18th places, respectively.

Despite the slow start to the competition, the Men’s Team recovered in the U23 Lightweight Men’s 500m category as De Jesus won a silver medal with a time of 1:28.5, only a few paddles behind Pakistan’s Ali Suleman and his 1:24.1 record. De Jesus was able to catch up to the Pakistani as he steamed ahead during the 400-meter mark, securing a podium finish.

ART Co-captain JC Berdin also competed in the U23 Men’s 500m event, finishing 10th with a time of 1:32.7.

De Jesus is hopeful that this victory will help competitive rowing garner the attention it deserves. “This medal goes to show how any motivated person can make it to the world stage with the right training and support. With more support and collaboration with the Philippine Rowing Association, I believe that the country’s competitive scene in rowing can definitely be boosted,” stated De Jesus.

National Team athlete and ART Captain Alyssa Go carried the Women’s Team’s endeavors in this year’s ARVIC. Go was initially supposed to compete in both the Women’s Lightweight U23 2000m and 500m events, but she was disqualified in the first event due to internet connectivity issues. Regardless, technical difficulties did not hinder Go from winning silver in the 500m variation of the same category with a time of 1:45.2, behind only the event best 1:42.9 of India’s Rose Maria Joshi Thannickakunnel. Go’s co-captain, Jill Lasquety, completed the race in finesse, landing at eighth place with a 1:56.8 time.

When asked whether or not her disqualification wavered her mindset, Go replied, “At first, I was confused with how this happened because our internet was strong [in the Philippine Rowing headquarters], but I did not let this affect me any further because I still had a 500m race and I wanted to really focus on that rather than the negatives.”

Julianne Sha—Go’s teammate on the Philippine team—claimed the bronze medal in the same event, with a time of 1:45.8, a mere split-second behind Go.

As captain of the Ateneo’s Women’s Team, Go expressed her gratitude and delight in being able to race with her university teammates. “I feel like this is such a huge milestone for ART because being able to see my teammates give their all despite the uncertainties as of the moment and having COVID around the corner. It really makes me happy to see how these athletes put their blood, sweat, and effort into the sport,” she shared.

Finally, Go parted with these words: “Today’s victory is a source of motivation and inspiration because it really just showed me my strengths and weaknesses, and with these, I am excited to improve and grow more as an athlete.”

With their podium finishes, Go and De Jesus clinched themselves spots in the World Rowing Indoor Championships to be held this February. They—along with the rest of the Ateneo Rowing Team—will also be competing in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam come May.