Laura Fisher of Holy Trinity and Anna Ardiel of Simcoe CS captured gold and silver respectively at the 19th Annual Rudernkrieg Indoor Rowing Championships held in St. Catharines on Saturday.
Fisher and Ardiel have both been rowing with the Silver Lake Rowing Club for several years. In her second indoor regatta of the season, Ardiel came second in a field of 13 competitors in the Senior Women’s 145 lb. event with a time of 7:53.2. According to Coach Sue Fairley, “Anna had an amazing finish kick after showing good mental focus by keeping all four 500 meter segments below two minutes.”
Competing in her first indoor event of the season, Fisher came first in the Senior Women’s Open event with a personal best time of 7:35.5 – a full 7 seconds ahead of the pack. “Laura rowed a great controlled race and managed to do it at a higher rate which I'm sure helped her get that personal best” said Fairley.
Both Ardiel and Fisher have been participating in the Women’s National Junior Team identification program along with athletes drawn from across Ontario. According to Jim Dover President Silver Lake Rowing Club, “Both Anna and Laura have been making an impression at the camps. These results at the senior level in the heart of the rowing capital – St. Catharines - demonstrate their skill and level of fitness. They both show great potential for when they get in their boats this season.” On land training at local high schools continues with the next indoor event being the Ontario Indoor Rowing Championships held in St. Catharines on March 6th. On the water training will begin for local high schools near the end of March weather permitting.