After a grueling month at the U.S. Rowing under-23 national team selection camp in Providence, R.I., Brendon Stoner ’14 will compete in the World Championships in Linz, Austria at the end of July.
On June 11, Stoner joined 19 other collegiate athletes to train under Brown University head coach Paul Cooke at Brown’s Marston Boathouse. Sixteen rowers and four coxswains vied for spots on the eight and four boats headed to Austria. Half of the athletes came from Ivy League schools.
Big Green assistant coach Andrew Hilton noted that it is rare for a current Dartmouth rower to compete with the national team at the U-23 level.
The selection camp involved constant seat racing, when two boats race against each other and a single rower in the boats switches for each race. Stoner called the process, which demonstrates which rower is faster, “a pretty stressful experience.”
Stoner said the high level of competition made for an energized atmosphere.
“I was going to camp with a bunch of guys who work really hard and care about the sport,” Stoner said. “It’s really nice to be in that kind of environment, where everyone wants to go fast and win.”
The first three weeks of selection camp focused on setting a preliminary roster for the eight boat. Stoner’s efforts earned him the five seat in the top boat.
The team then spent time at Princeton University before heading to Cornell University, where they are currently training. The team will return to Princeton to train with the senior team, which recently returned from the World Cup, before it departs for Austria on Friday.
Since the team has only been training together for a month, Stoner said much of the camp’s training time gauged rowers’ adaptability, especially since successful rowing requires team consistency and precision.
“Throughout the weeks, the lineups are constantly changing, and the coaches take note of how well you respond to technical changes and matching up with other guys,” Stoner said. “It’s a little bit intimidating to only have two or three weeks together as a boat but, at the same time, it’s something that we’ve all prepared for.”
Stoner rows on the Big Green’s first varsity eight, but the competition in Austria will be better than what he has experienced, even given the high caliber of American collegiate rowing.
“The level of competition in the U.S. collegiate position is very high because schools are recruiting internationally,” Hilton said. “The level will be higher, but I don’t think it’s an astronomical leap. He’s very well equipped to succeed there.”
Big Green teammate Paul Champeau ’15 credited Stoner’s success to an unparalleled work ethic.
“What he’s doing is really inspiring,” Champeau said. “Last year he was a great rower, but he turned it into something really special. He worked harder and more consistently than anyone else there. He pounded the erg for eight or nine months straight, just relentlessly to get where he is.”
Stoner said his fitness training helped him build up the stamina he needed to compete in the selection camp.
“He’s extremely tenacious and very driven with a tremendous work ethic,” Hilton said. “It extends to every aspect of his life as far as I can tell. He just doesn’t seem to back down from a challenge.”
Hilton said he discovered Stoner’s steadfast dedication last year.
“He’s not gifted with the attributes that one looks for right off the bat such as size, length of arms and length of legs,” Hilton said. “Some people would allow that to limit their vision for themselves, but he worked extremely hard over sophomore summer, logging an incredible amount of meters every day.”
Stoner’s tenacity has benefited the Big Green as a team. He recently helped Dartmouth capture the Packard Cup against Syracuse University for the first time since 2010.
“It helps most just having him to train around,” Champeau said. “He’s always pushing guys to put in the extra work, and the way he contributes most is to push the other guys on the team.”
Although this will be Stoner’s first competition at the U-23 world level, he intends to keep the competition in perspective by going through his normal race routine.
“I’m working on staying focused and treating it technically and in terms of aggression like every other race,” he said. “But in the end, it’s all about the whole boat coming together.”
Historically, the U.S. has succeeded at the World Championships, bringing home three medals last year, including a gold in the men’s eights. The team hopes to defend the American title.
“My personal and team goal is to win,” Stoner said. “It’s not beyond our capability, but it will take every ounce we have to be able to execute that. We have to go in and pull a 110 percent race to be able to win.”