A rower from St Petersburg University has become the best sprinter of the season
Summarising the results of the indoor rowing competition, Dmitrii Revkov, a student of St Petersburg University, was acknowledged as the best sprinter of the winter season of the Student Rowing League 2018/2019. The award to this athlete was presented by Vladimir Eshinov, the 1976 Olympic champion and two-time world champion in rowing.
Dmitrii Revkov, an economics student at St Petersburg University and a member of the University team, won gold in the race of the first stage, bronze and silver of the second stage and third stage, respectively. He also continued to be among the fastest rowers in the standings all the time. The winner in this category is determined by the amount of points scored for all stages of the season.
“It was not very easy to win the sprint, since other athletes were mainly in the heavier weight category - 100–110 kg. So, their advantage could be outweighed only by good physical readiness and speed training. Until the last stage, it was not clear who would be the winner. My closest opponent was three points behind me and could easily get ahead, as one can get 150 points for the race,” explained Dmitrii Revkov.
The tension was so heavy that you could easily make a false start, for which you are simply withdrawn from the race. In the final race, the difference between the second and fourth place was only 0.1 seconds.
Dmitrii Revkov, an economist student at St Petersburg University and a member of the University team
Dmitrii Revkov is going to participate in the summer stages of the Student Rowing League. In the nearest future, the team expects the first training on the water this year.
Indoor rowing is an officially recognised type of rowing. Competitions are held on special rowing machines Concept 2, simulating boat racing on the water. Initially, ergometers were used only for training athletes, especially during the winter period. But relatively recently, rowing machine races grew into a separate discipline with their competitions. In Russia, for example, the Ministry of Sport approved it in 2015. The sprint indoor rowing distance is an individual short distance race (250 m).
The Student Rowing League (SRL) has existed since 2016. This is the third winter indoor rowing championship. Competitions are held in six stages from November to April. Boys and girls take part in them. They compete both in team and individual races at various distances (2,000 m, 1,000 m and 250 m). This time more than 940 students from 50 Russian universities competed for the title of the best. According to the overall rating of the Student Rowing League, the St Petersburg University team made the top five of the winter season that has just ended.