The Tulsa Youth Rowing Association (TYRA) recently competed in the SouthWest Ergometer Amateur Tournament (SWEAT) held in Dallas, TX. At this indoor rowing event, individual athletes compete over two thousand meters on Concept2 rowing machines and try to record the fastest time possible in their age and experience categories.
The highlight of the day was the girls freshman event where TYRA had five entries. Anna Tharakan placed 3rd in a time of 8:01.6. She was closely followed by Emma Reynolds (6th), Jackie Schula (7th), Leanna Kim (11th) and Anikah Rahman (20th) out of field of 23 athletes. Tharakan’s bronze medal finish was an especially solid performance considering she is recovering from an early Winter knee injury.
“I didn’t go into the race expecting much. It was hard to predict what I wanted to pull considering I had been out injured for the prior month. The main workout had been on my abs as that was all I really could do, but doing around 500 sit-ups a day helped me reach my goal. All I knew was I had to go as hard as I could, but others around me helped me come up with a race plan that was realistic to reach. This and a consistent cox helped me reach something that not even I had expected!” said Tharakan of her performance. In addition to these results, Liz McClain earned a 4th place finish in the Girl’s middle school event over the 1000m distance.
On the boys side TYRA’s Booker T. Washington High School Sophomore Dakota Doctor placed 4th in the men’s junior coxswain category with a time of 8:15.5.
Head Coach Tamara Clayton was impressed with her entire team.
“Indoor racing requires an immense amount of psychological discipline in addition to one’s physical abilities”, said Clayton. “I am proud of the medal that was won, but I am ultimately proud of the way the team conducted themselves as both athletes and competitors. The hard work leading up to race day; the drive to succeed; the teamwork, support, and the respect given not only to our fellow teammates, but to other teams as well was impressive. These were all positives that I will gladly take home with us this weekend. Our spring season has kicked off with a bang, and I am excited to see what the rest of the season has to offer.”
The team now looks to get back on the water and train in preparation for their next event at the Heart of Texas Regatta held in Austin, TX on March 3rd/4th.
TYRA will be hosting the Route 66 Regatta on April 7th where teams from all over the region will be competing on the Verdigris River.
TYRA is a non-profit organization that serves Tulsa and surrounding areas by providing access to rowing activities. For more information on joining or supporting the club please contact Head Coach Tamara Clayton at coacht@okrowing.org.
Images courtesy Jesuit Prep Photopraphy
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