HENLEY GOLD FOR LOCAL ROWERS!
Several Silver Lake rowers present and past made their mark at North America’s largest regatta by winning Henley gold at the 128th annual Royal Canadian Henley Canadian Regatta.
Caleb McCleary of Burford started the gold rush by winning the Junior Men Single event. McCleary advanced to the semi-final by winning his heat with the fastest overall time of over 70 competitors drawn from across North America. In his semi-final, McCleary advanced to the final with the second fastest overall time. “In the final, I took the lead at about the 1000 meter mark but it was close all the way” said McCleary. “It was only in the last 500 meters when I started to pull away.” McCleary had a commanding four second lead at the finish.
Tyler Wilson and Zac Azzopardi also advanced to the final in the Under 23 Lightweight Men Double event where they placed fifth overall. Eryk Taylor advanced to the semi-final in the Under 17 Men Single event with the sixth fastest time out of over 50 competitors. However, Taylor did not advance to the final. “Eryk is such a competitor” said Head Coach Sue Fairley. “He puts everything on the line each race regardless. He had two races before his single race – all the same day. He simply didn’t have enough energy left to pull it out of the hat.”
The Silver Lake Rowing Club also had an entry of Azzopardi and McCleary in the Junior Men’s Double event. However, the crew had a mishap on the way to the starting gates that resulted in damage to their boat and some minor injuries to both rowers. Their race was delayed to allow them time to regroup. “Caleb and Zac just hopped in another boat without any rigging adjustments and rowed an incredible race placing third in their heat.” Even though their third place finish time was faster than the first place time in five other heats and the second place time in two other heats, McCleary and Azzopardi failed to advance to the semi-finals as they needed a second place finish. According to Fairley, “They were contenders for gold. It was a heartbreak to watch the final knowing it could have been them racing to the finish.”
A Henley gold medal is one of the most sought after medals in the North American rowing circuit being North America’s largest regatta. McCleary’s gold represents the second gold medal a Silver Lake rower has won at the Royal Canadian Henley. This year the Silver Lake Rowing Club was represented by:
· Josh Azzopardi (Simcoe)
· Zac Azzopardi (Simcoe)
· Caleb McCleary (Burford)
· Eryk Taylor (Simcoe)
· Tyler Wilson (Simcoe)
Silver Lake alumni were also present and making their mark. Ian Edwards of Langton, a former student of Holy Trinity, won gold in the Senior Men Single dash rowing for the Guelph Rowing Club. Terry Lovegrove of Simcoe, a former student of Simcoe Composite, also won gold in the Senior Men Eight dash rowing for the St. Catharines Rowing Club. Former Holy Trinity rower Mike Veltri of Simcoe advanced to the final in the Under 23 Lightweight Men Pair event representing the Guelph Rowing Club.
According to Jim Dover President Silver Lake Rowing Club “I remember when John Brinkman, a past President of our club, said that one of our club’s success measures would be having our athletes continue to row past high school. Not only are they continuing to row, some of them are beating the best in North America!”
Picture from left to right Front row: Sue Fairley, Caleb McCleary, Samy Fairley
Back row: Josh Azzopardi, Eryk Taylor, Tyler Wilson, Zach Azzopardi
For more information regarding the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, visit: http://henleyregatta.ca
The Silver Lake Rowing Club was established in 1999 to promote the sport of rowing in Norfolk County and surrounding communities. For information regarding Club rowing contact Susan Fairley Head Coach (519-583-0461). To find out more about the Silver Lake Rowing Club, call Jim Dover President, Silver Lake Rowing Club (905-318-5932 ext. 224 / 519-426-5677) or visit our web site at: www.silverlakerowingclub.com.