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But the final outcome was the same both times. Gold medals for Sebastian Kirwan and his teammates. Kirwan, who graduated from Wilton High School last month, was a member of two U.S. rowing squads that finished first last weekend at the annual CanAmMex regatta in St. Catherines, Ontario. Kirwan teamed with Ben Dann of Pound Ridge, N.Y., to win the double sculls, and Kirwan and Dann combined with Will Kelly and Dan Kenefick of New Canaan to place first in the quadruple sculls. Canada was second and Mexico third in both events. The four rowers, who compete for the Norwalk-based Maritime Rowing Club, qualified for the regatta by finishing first in the quad race at the USRowing youth nationals in Cincinnati last month. The Maritime crew defeated four-time defending champ Malvern (Pa.) Prep by 3.7 seconds, finishing with a time of six minutes, 41.87 seconds for the 2,000-meter course. Kirwan and Dann were then chosen to compete in the double sculls events at the CanAmMex competition. “We just practiced together a week before the race,” said Kirwan. “We didn’t know how we would do.” The duo got off to a slow start, with the boat nearly flipping in a strong current. But Kirwan and Dann caught up to the other boats within 300 meters and took control from there. Things went smoother in the quad event, as the U.S. team enjoyed a clean start and led the entire way. “It was our last race as a team, so we wanted to put together a good effort,” said Kirwan. Earlier this month, Kirwan, Dann, Kenefick and Kelly competed at the prestigious Royal Henley Regatta in England, reaching the quarterfinals in the quad event before losing to a boat from Sydney, Australia. “It was different because you go head-to-head against another boat,” said Kirwan. “And the crowd is different, too, because all the people get really dressed up.” Kirwan, who started at Maritime three years ago, will continue rowing at Columbia University, where he will be a freshman this fall. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “As a freshman you have to row on the freshman boat at Columbia. But after that I can hopefully move up to JV or varsity as a sophomore.” Kirwan and Kenefick were members of the Maritime quad that lost by less than a second to Malvern Prep at last year’s youth nationals. “That was such a close race,” said Kirwan. “We really wanted to beat them this year.” But Malvern defeated the Maritime crew twice during the season before youth nationals. “It was a little bit psychological,” said Kirwan. “They had won four years in a row.” Maritime got its revenge twice at youth nationals, beating Malvern in an opening heat and then again in the finals. “It was such a great feeling,” said Kirwan. “We finally knocked them off.” Kirwan was also a member of the USRowing junior national team that competed last year in Amsterdam. “We didn’t do that well,” he said. “That’s why it was nice to go to another international event and finish first.” Twice. © Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
