While the Winter Olympics are coming up next month in South Korea, a university student in Sudbury is busy preparing for a possible trip to a future Summer Olympics in rowing.
Charles Alexander only took up the sport a couple of years ago.
The second-year Outdoor Leadership student from Fergus, Ontario, trains 3 times a day, 6 days a week. He stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall, and he never thought rowing would be such an important part of his life.
"I had zero intention of rowing whatsoever. Then my coach came after me because of my body size. She said ‘you're a big guy and have the right physiology for the sport, you should try it.’ The first two times I said no." said Alexander.
Apparently, the third time was the charm though, because a year and a half ago, Alexander finally decided to give it a shot under the tutelage of the Laurentian University rowing coach, Amanda Schweinbenz.
“He has a really strong work ethic. Every time we try to work on something, you can see him focusing on exactly what we want to be doing, and how to achieve that goal throughout the practice." said Schweinbenz.
Recently, Alexander competed at RBC “training ground” events, a talent identification program designed to discover Canada's next Olympians. Battling against hundreds of other athletes, he showed elite testing results, including winning the “strongest male” award, and earning funding for training.
"I've been identified by team Canada a “Next GEN” athlete. So what “Next GEN” entails is that they feel I'm 4 to 6 years out from competing at the Olympics.” said Alexander.
He is off to the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championship next month, and in June, Alexander will be vying for a spot on the national team.
