Sarasota boat wins Youth National Rowing Championship

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - It was a day rowers have had circled on their calendars for months. The grand finals of the Youth National Championship taking place at Nathan Benderson Park on Sunday.

A boat from Sarasota was looking to do what they hadn’t been able to in the last two years and breakthrough for the gold.

In 2021, Sarasota Crew missed the podium. A year ago, they took home the bronze.

The oars were acting in harmony as the boat made it’s way down the 2,000-meter course. It was a tight race all throughout.

Sarasota jumped out to an early lead, but was flanked by the field all the way down the water.

“I liked how exciting it was,” says rower Dylan Vu. “All the boats were right next to each other.”

The race came down to a true photo finish, but the hometown boat glided in just 0.8 seconds before the rest of the competition.

Parents gathered throughout the park, cheering on their kids who can now say they are the fastest in the country.

“We are just speechless, these kids are phenomenal,” says Viktoria Warren, mother to rower William Warren.

Those kids are now in rarified air, as a select few can be crowned as national champions.

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