Australian rower Georgie Rowe sat down on her machine over the weekend to get in a workout. Little did she know that when it was over she may have broken a world record.
This rower might have accidentally broken a world record while at home
When a workout becomes something historic.
Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Rowe, who only began rowing four years ago, is a member of the Australian women’s eight team that won silver at the World Championships last year. Her spot on the Olympic team has not yet been solidified, so she, like every prospective athlete, is getting her workout in at home.
To pass the time and keep athletes working, Rowing Australia devised an at-home competition for athletes. They would compete against each other on Concept 2 machines, regarded as the closest thing to actually rowing. Athletes would record their fastest times, share them, and determine a winner.
The fastest time for a half-marathon on a Concept 2 is 1:20:12.1, set by Esther Lofgren — who won gold at the 2012 games. Rowe threw on some music Saturday, sat down to get some kilometers in, and when it was over the screen showed her time: 1.19:28.4. A time almost 40 seconds faster than the previous world record, destroying it without even planning to.
Now a technicality is all that remains in solidifying the world record. In order to get her Australian machine to allow her to do a half-marathon, Rowe needed to convert the miles into meters. It would have been 21,097.5, so she rounded up to 21,098. That extra half-meter is proving to be a problem for record keepers, and they’re working to determine now how to judge the new record.
For now, Rowe isn’t worried whether she’ll actually be awarded the record or not. She’s just preparing to be ready, whenever Olympic qualifiers can be held, in the hopes she’ll make the team and get to compete in Tokyo in 2021.
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