On-Water Rowing

The Paralympic Regatta concluded with exciting racing on the Sea Forest Waterway. Our team was on site to help with competitors’ needs.

The Regatta included four boat classes in three athlete classifications: PR1 Men’s Single Sculls, PR1 Women’s Single Sculls, PR2 Mixed Double Sculls and PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain. Racing in Tokyo will be remembered historically as the first Paralympics where athletes competed over 2000 meters. (The previous distance was 1000 meters.) Continue Reading ›

For athlete Kouadio Franck N’Dri (who goes by the name Franck-Aimé), rowing is not just an Olympic dream, but a deeply personal goal: he rows in his late father’s memory as a way to connect to and remember the man who taught him the sport. Franck-Aimé realized at a young age that he wanted to do something significant in rowing. Representing the Ivory Coast at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will surely fulfill that goal. Continue Reading ›

Happy Birthday to Don McCluskey, who turns 100 years old on February 17, 2021!

We’re always excited to share the stories of our centenarians who demonstrate that rowing can be a lifelong sport. Don credits his longevity to a diet of red wine, Brussel sprouts and carrots, along with his daily exercise on the Concept2 RowErg. Don lives in an assisted living facility, where he continues to work out daily during COVID-19.

“During the pandemic I’ve been rowing every single day for at least 20-30 minutes, and it’s kept me healthy and sane during the lockdown. It’s one of the best exercises you can do when you’re stuck indoors. I have it set up by a window, and I don’t listen to audio while I’m rowing. It’s such a pleasure to row that I just look out the window and get my best thinking done while rowing on my Concept2.” Continue Reading ›

Concept2 recently invited Arshay Cooper, rower, author, speaker and activist, to speak with us about his film, A Most Beautiful Thing. Unlike our last visit in November 2019, this time Arshay visited us via Zoom and we were able to ask questions about the movie.

Narrated by the rapper Common, A Most Beautiful Thing chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in the US in the late 1990s. The team is made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from the West Side of Chicago, coming together to row in the same boat. Concept2 employees agreed that the movie made us laugh, cry, feel inspired and gave insight to how the sport of rowing provides opportunities to those living in challenging circumstances. Continue Reading ›