Belgrade, Serbia - Sitting at the start line of the World Rowing Championships,
Ben Washburne '23 and his teammates were ready for action. The American crew had already had an impressive showing in their heat a few days earlier and were now focused on laying down the fastest possible time in the A Final.
Washburne's crew was competing in the PR3 Mixed 4+ event, a classification where the competitors have use of their legs, trunk, and arms, but have either a visual or physical impairment such as reduced limb function or loss of muscle strength.
The boat had been training together all summer, twice a day. High level racing was nothing new to Washburne, having competed at the IRA Championship Regatta three times during his college career, but even the IRA pales in comparison to Worlds. Nevertheless, Ben and his teammates weren't going to let the nerves get to them.
In a very competitive final, Ben stroked the Americans to a silver medal, finishing behind Great Britain but besting crews from Germany, Australia, France, and China. When asked about the race, Washburne had this to say: "The race was awesome, we executed on our plan fully, just GB had a little more. It was pretty wild looking over at the 500 mark and seeing five boats across even. We had a lot of confidence in our base, so I wasn't too worried. Our moves broke us off Australia and Germany, and the crowd carried us through the sprint. I could hear them chanting "USA, USA, USA" which was surreal."
Ben and his boat finished the race with an impressive time of 7:25.01. Now, the USA crew will focus on preparation for Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Although Ben is new to the global rowing scene, he has already made a huge impact on his teammates with his positive attitude and work ethic. This should be anything but surprising for his former teammates and coaches, who know just how much "Wash" means to them. At practice, Washburne was known for always trying to push himself and others, never quitting, and never settling.
When asked about how Williams prepared him for international competition, Washburne said: "At WMC, every single guy is deeply competitive, so the practices are super competitive. But there is also a program-wide emphasis on professionalism and getting the work done the right way. This professional competitiveness ingrained in me at Williams was a huge part of my ability to train at a world championship level and have success at the regatta. I just approached the practices and races this summer the same way I had at Williams, to be honest."
Ben's coach for all four years at Williams,
Marc Mandel, had high praise for Washburne: "Ben was an incredible student athlete and leader on our team during his four years at Williams. It's fun, but not surprising, to see a similar impact he is having on the US National team. Ben and his crew rowed extremely well to earn silver at the World Championships, and I'm excited to see what they can do in Paris '24."
Ben has made a lasting impression on all around him, and the Williams Crew family cannot wait to continue to follow Ben in his rowing journey at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
