Orth comes full circle
Teagan Orth can’t wait to compete for Canada in the under-23 women’s eight at the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under 23, and Under 19 Championships (Mega Worlds) Aug. 18-25 in St. Catharines.
“I am extremely excited since it is my hometown. It’s definitely a full circle moment since that’s where I learned to row,” the 21-year-old St. Catharines native said.
She expects to have a lot of support during the five days of the championships.
“So many fans! My family and friends will all be there cheering me on. I live five minutes away from the course so that definitely helps.”
The Virginia scholarship rower earned herself a spot on the team during trials in St. Catharines in early June.
“They were really challenging but trials went well. I originally seat-raced into the straight four but recently seat-raced into the eight which is exciting.”
It was a memorable moment when the St. Francis graduate was told she had made the team.
“I was super happy. It definitely makes the hard work of the last few years at Virginia feel like it’s come together.”
This won’t be the first go around for Orth wearing a Canadian singlet. In 2021, she represented the red and white at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
“It will definitely help me because I know what to expect in terms of the level of competition and how it ramps up throughout the course of the week.”
The expectations for the eight going into worlds are simple.
“(It’s to) perform to the best of our abilities and put pieces together on the water that we are proud of. We have seen some real speed this summer and I’m ecstatic to show the world what we are made of.”
Orth describes her latest season at Virginia as tough for the entire team.
“We didn’t get to where we wanted as a team this season but I’m excited for our upcoming season. I bounced around the first varsity eight and second varsity eight most of the season and ended in the first varsity four,” said Orth, who won Canada Games gold in the eight on the Henley course in 2022.
In the past six months, she believes she has had the most growth in her life as an athlete.
“I feel like I’ve come into my own skin as a leader as well as a gritty racer. Something I’ve always struggled with in rowing is really sitting in discomfort but over the past year I’ve learned to welcome the pain of training and it’s definitely helped me.”
She will return to Virginia one day after the world championships conclude.
“It’s a quick turnaround but I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had this summer for anything.”
She feels her summer of training with the national team will pay dividends in the upcoming season.
“Although I haven’t been taking the summer to erg or cross train, I have definitely focused heavily on technique this summer. Taking that and the extremely high intensity training plan we’ve followed this summer to school is the plan.”
Away from the water, Orth is majoring in speech communication disorders.
“I absolutely love my major and am very passionate about language disorders as well as swallowing disorders. Getting to row in the NCAA as well as study my passion is a dream come true.”
