Double reunites for Mega Worlds
When the sport of rowing was coming out of the COVID 19 pandemic, athletes at the St. Catharines Rowing Club were allowed to choose one person to row with in a pod.
Giancarlo DiPompeo and Owen Kudreikis, teammates then in the SCRC’s under-17 program, decided they would work together in a double.
“We started rowing this combo near the end of COVID when things started opening back up,” said Kudreikis, a scholarship rower at the University of Pennsylvania. “We knew we were pretty quick for a junior double back then so we came back three years later and rowing in the exact same combo on the same course is awesome.”
The band of two isn’t back together for any run-of-the-mill regatta. The duo has been selected to represent Canada in the under-23 lightweight double at the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under 23, and Under 19 Championships (Mega Worlds) Aug. 18-25 in St. Catharines.
They enlisted the service of SCRC coach Mike Petrychanko to help them out but they knew it wasn’t going to be easy. With time trials set for early June in St. Catharines, DiPompeo, a scholarship rower at the University of Victoria, headed to Philadelphia in May to get some time in the double with Kudreikis. Kudreikis competed in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships on a Sunday, drove home Monday in time for one practice session that night and then competed in the trials with DiPompeo on Tuesday.
“We took a risk with the whole situation and we understood that the trials would be a couple of days after the IRA championships for him,” said DiPompeo, a 20-year-old Thorold native. “There wasn’t much time to train together but we trusted that we were skilled enough to make it happen. Unfortunately they didn’t select us the first time around, but because of how well we did given our circumstances we were given another opportunity.”
Kudreikis, a 21-year-old St. Catharines native, was glad to get a second chance to qualify at time trials in July.
“It was a fast turnaround the first time and to get more time in the boat helped,” the Eden graduate said.
Petrychanko has had a blast coaching the double.
“It has been fun coaching them and just seeing the work ethic of these two guys. They are so Type A and so driven with what they are trying to do,” he said. “They are also doing it in a different way. Giancarlo is an engineering student and he has to do his engineering placement and Owen is going to Penn so he has to work over the summer. It wasn’t a surprise but they didn’t take the most direct route to get here.”
Both athletes are thrilled to compete in the worlds in St. Catharines.
“It is really cool and for both of us that was part of the motivation to do this project. We wanted to make it happen any way we could and it is going to be a great experience for both of us,” said DiPompeo, a Denis Morris graduate.
“This is where we learned how to row and to come back home and have my first experience on the national team is awesome,” Kudreikis said. “We are racing on the course we have been racing for the last four years in front of home fans. We will come back to the island and know all the volunteers.”
He is equally excited about the strong competition and competing on their home course.
“Rowing through the final 500 knowing where we are, being able to hear local fans and hopefully ending up on the podium afterwards in front of the home fans is going to be amazing.”
Kudreikis is looking forward to sharing that with all the volunteers at the club.
“To be able to go out and represent St. Catharines is a great experience and will allow us to showcase all the great work that is done by volunteers here. Hopefully we will be able to give back a little bit.”
DiPompeo is no stranger to international competition. The lightweight single champion at the 2023 Canadian University Rowing Championships went to junior worlds in 2021 and last year won a bronze in the lightweight quad at the under-23 worlds. This summer, he won a silver medal in the lightweight single at the World University Games— he missed gold by 0.8 seconds — and will be able to draw on his international experience.
“It is been really helpful because it has given me a lot of things to work off of and know what to expect. The first couple of times is just trying to get there and compete at that level. Now it’s trying to win at that level and that is what I went into the season with. I went to FISU and I was shooting for a medal and last year we got a taste of that in the quad with a bronze. I want to keep that going and actually compete to win at that level rather than just getting there.”
Petrychanko believes the boat has an excellent chance of being on the podium at worlds.
“Kud has a killer instinct out there for racing and he can just sense if there is a chance to move. He can sniff out if another boat is showing a weakness and Giancarlo has that Thorold grittiness that you can’t teach. He scratches and claws and he is not going to give anyone an inch out there.”
DiPompeo and Kudreikis share their coach’s confidence.
“I think this crew has the potential to do it and that’s why we pushed for it and took those risks. It would be amazing on home soil,” DiPompeo said.
The double believes they have the perfect partnership to make that happen.
“We both have our own way of doing things but we are on the same page and we want the same outcomes,” DiPompeo said. “Sometimes we have different opinions on certain things but we work it out because we want the same outcome.”
Often it is Petrychanko who helps them reach a consensus.
“He is the glue that settles things down. When we have different perspectives he is that voice to listen to,” DiPompeo said.
“To get back with him after we had three years to develop by ourselves in different programs I think we both bring different perspectives to the boat. Most of our rowing is conversing,” Kudreikis said. “We will stop and talk about a workout or how a piece is going, what he and I are feeling, what Mike is seeing and what do we have to change to make the boat come together. We have done that so much now over the course of the summer that sometimes now one of us just has to say one word and you automatically get what the change needs to be and what the other person is trying to get across. Within two strokes we can change the rhythm.”
