Oh, the places you'll row
Kristyn Ulanday
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Sports
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Every river has a point where rowers must decide whether to enjoy a lull in the action or press on to faster, more challenging currents.
After graduation, newly minted Boston University alumni Will Daly and Florian Mennigen chose to pursue the current. The former crew co-captains rowed their way into the Top 10 at the FISA World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany held Aug. 26 to Sept. 2.
Mennigen rowed for his home country, Germany, placing third in the coxed fours while Daly placed fifth in the American lightweight eight. Mennigen's boat started in fourth place and pushed past Great Britain to finish with a time of 6:12.49. Daly's boat overtook Poland to finish fifth in his event with a time of 5:51.97.
"The competition is really hard, and to continue at this level is awesome," Daly said. "We didn't do as well as we had hoped . . . but we did everything we could."
For Mennigen, the home crowd added something special to his experience at the championship.
"It was a truly amazing experience to race in front of a home crowd of 15,000 spectators," Mennigen wrote in an email. "The last 500 meters of the 2k race were just an enormous roar of voices cheering for us. Although we had hoped to win the whole thing, we're still happy with the bronze medal. We raced as hard as we could so we don't have any regrets."
Daly's and Mennigen's success at the championships is just one stop on their journey to the top of their sport. Their dedication goes back to their days at BU, with their roles as captains having a large impact on their approach to the sport today.
"Everyone is coming out [of college] in the same boat," Daly said. "[Being a captain] prepared me to look out for the younger guys on my boat this year and try to please everyone so they rowed to the best of their ability."
Both men credited their years at BU in their preparation for the professional circuit. The challenge of juggling schoolwork and rowing helped them succeed as both athletes and students.
After graduation, newly minted Boston University alumni Will Daly and Florian Mennigen chose to pursue the current. The former crew co-captains rowed their way into the Top 10 at the FISA World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany held Aug. 26 to Sept. 2.
Mennigen rowed for his home country, Germany, placing third in the coxed fours while Daly placed fifth in the American lightweight eight. Mennigen's boat started in fourth place and pushed past Great Britain to finish with a time of 6:12.49. Daly's boat overtook Poland to finish fifth in his event with a time of 5:51.97.
"The competition is really hard, and to continue at this level is awesome," Daly said. "We didn't do as well as we had hoped . . . but we did everything we could."
For Mennigen, the home crowd added something special to his experience at the championship.
"It was a truly amazing experience to race in front of a home crowd of 15,000 spectators," Mennigen wrote in an email. "The last 500 meters of the 2k race were just an enormous roar of voices cheering for us. Although we had hoped to win the whole thing, we're still happy with the bronze medal. We raced as hard as we could so we don't have any regrets."
Daly's and Mennigen's success at the championships is just one stop on their journey to the top of their sport. Their dedication goes back to their days at BU, with their roles as captains having a large impact on their approach to the sport today.
"Everyone is coming out [of college] in the same boat," Daly said. "[Being a captain] prepared me to look out for the younger guys on my boat this year and try to please everyone so they rowed to the best of their ability."
Both men credited their years at BU in their preparation for the professional circuit. The challenge of juggling schoolwork and rowing helped them succeed as both athletes and students.
