IN THEIR fourth consecutive year of participating in the World Rowing Indoor Championships (WRICH), the Ateneo Rowing Team (ART) stamped their mark on the international stage as they fielded three rowers in four different categories. 

Emilia Jill Abalos, Jason Noel Chanyungco, and Julia Ysabel Letrondo all stood their ground against the top rowers in the world at the 21–22 year-old age class. The prestigious two-day tournament, which attracted over 2,000 entries from more than 50 countries, was held last February 23–24 in Prague, Czechia. The ART competed remotely at the Philippine National Rowing Team Barracks at the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City.

Lightweight Women’s 500m Category

Equipped with adequate amounts of skill and experience, Abalos came into the tournament prepared for the challenge of the highest level of rowing. The ART Women’s Captain powered through with their persistent back-and-forth strokes as they finished with an outstanding time of 1:47.0 minutes, earning them fifth place among 11 participants. Abalos also managed to keep a stroke per minute (spm) rate of 44, on par with the race leaders of the category who tallied 45-47 spm. 

Danish rower Zoe Dickson grabbed the championship with a strong 1:39.6 minute performance, while Polish Olga Sokolowska and French Anaelle Brousseau finished second and third, respectively.

Lightweight Men’s 500m Category

Rowing beside Abalos was Chanyungco, who entered the lightweight men’s 500m contest aiming for more experience in competing with the world powerhouses in rowing. The Ateneo Men’s Captain muscled through the time trial, clocking in a respectable 1:34.2 on a 43 spm rate, good enough for 12th place. Eslam Sobhi of Egypt ruled the category with a time of 1:22.9, while Germany’s Philip Kaltenborn and Argentina’s Matias Arana completed the podium.

Aside from Chanyungco, three other Filipino rowers vied for glory in the category. Van Maxilom was fastest among the compatriots with a time of 1:28.6 for sixth place, while Athens Tolentino and Romnel Acosta finished seventh and eleventh, respectively.

Women’s 500m and 2,000m Category

Being the only rower in the team to participate in two different categories, Letrondo carried a lot of weight on her shoulders during the WRICH. She first took part in the 500m distance race on Friday evening, wherein she ranked seventh with a time of 1:49.1 and a rowing pace of 38 spm. Vár Guriardóttir Hansen of Denmark reigned in the Women’s 500m division, obtaining a winning time of 1:29.4 via fast-paced rowing of 43 spm. Egyptian Sara Zafer and Estonian Julija Varšavskaja followed suit to finish second and third, respectively.

In the second and final day of the tournament, Letrondo battled in the 2,000m marathon rowing event in which she clocked in at 8:14.2 minutes, enough for a tenth-place finish. The ART standout kept a good rowing rate of 32 spm in the first 500 meters, yet was unable to carry on in the latter stages, dropping to a sub-30 spm in the 1,000m and 1,500m marks of the race. Dictating the race pace were the top three rowers in the division—German Alexandra Föster, Czech Martina Zbíralová, and Belgian Mazarine Guilbert—who all maintained a steady 30+ spm on all of the checkpoints throughout the contest.

Attributing to the team’s excellent showing, Abalos alluded to the pressure they felt in representing not only the school, but the whole Philippines. They said that this pressure drove them to train harder and perform better.

“As we strived to go beyond our personal best times, we went through two months of rigorous training of consistent running, weight training, rowing machine workouts, and religiously following our diets to meet our weight categories,” said the women’s skipper.

The 22 year-old veteran added that despite being intimidated by their European competitors’ significant advantages in size, experience, and facilities, the crew focused on trusting their individual training regiment to achieve their personal targets.

The ART, which is the sole university-based rowing squad in the country, looks to build on the international exposure they gained from joining the 2024 WRICH. The crew will be eyeing another successful stint in the 2025 edition of the WRICH.