Beverly's Richardson to compete at World Rowing Championships

Sep. 14—When Sean Richardson graduated from Beverly High School in 2017, he never could've envisioned that he'd be competing at the World Rowing Championship in the Czech Republic five years later.

A standout athlete who primarily shined on the track for the Panthers, Richardson initially hoped to continue running at UMass Amherst. But an unexpected coaching change at the university quickly altered those plans.

"I was under the implication that I would be able to walk on to the track team based on previous conversations with the head coach at the time," explained Richardson. "But the coach left, they got a new one and he just really wasn't having it, honestly. He gave me the opportunity to train on my own and get my times down, but it just didn't work out."

So Richardson shifted gears to a new sport — and it just so happens that he was really, really good at it.

"I found rowing through an activity (advertisement) during the first week of classes. I went to a couple of practices, got on the water, went through tryouts and workouts at the gymnasium ... and I was kind of hooked after that," said Richardson.

After four years of rowing for UMass as well as consistent rigorous training and top-tier qualifying events thereafter, Richardson earned a spot on this year's USRowing roster. He'll compete alongside teammates Ashton Knight of Weston, Ian Richardson of Amesbury, and Mats Terwiesch of Wynnewood, Penn. at the World Championships in Prague from September 19-25 as part of the men's lightweight quadruple skulls boat.

Lightweight competitors have to maintain a weight of 159.8 pounds or lighter, whereas heavyweight boats have no weight limit.

"We're feeling good," said Richardson, whose teammate with the same surname (no relation) graduated from St. John's Prep. "Definitely nervous in the sense that this is all our first time rowing for the national team, but we're just excited for the opportunity to go there and be around a bunch of incredible athletes."

Getting his feet wet

Already boasting an athletic and agile 6-foot-2 frame, Richardson found instant success in the water. Although the squad at UMass was technically a club team, it was still every bit as competitive as any varsity program, and Richardson and his teammates certainly took their races seriously.

He honed his skills about 15 minutes from campus on the Connecticut River while training with numerous other club teams during the pandemic when UMass was unable to train or compete.

"There were a lot of restrictions during COVID so I rowed at local clubs like North Hampton and Springfield, trained with a group out of Saratoga Springs, and did a camp in Florida in preparation for Olympic Trials, among other things" said Richardson.

Those uber-competitive and oftentimes exhausting events were ultimately what pushed Richardson to the next level.

"That's what kind of turned me on to the elite rowing scene. Just getting to see how these athletes trained and prepared on a day to day basis," he said.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue it after college so this was an opportunity to see if it's something I was serious about. Just that process of meeting a lot of new people and training a lot more ... it really became something that I was definitely interested in pursuing."

Climbing the ranks

After spending countless hours training at and around the Riverside Boat Club in Cambridge, Richardson and his team earned a bid for the World Championships by shining at the US trials in New Jersey in early July. They also entered other high level races throughout the summer, including the Holland Beker Regatta in Amsterdam and the Canadian Henley Regatta, the latter of which where they took home the title.

Now, they squad is prepping for the biggest and perhaps most daunting event of their lives and couldn't be more excited for the opportunity.

"I've never been (to the Czech Republic) but I've heard great things about it. My current coach has been there a couple of times for the junior championships and it sounds like a really cool spot," said Richardson. "My understanding of Prague is it's just a very historical city, lot of buildings have remained intact for hundreds of years ... so it will be unique to a lot of things we've done already. I'm excited to see that component."

Richardson's flight left on Sunday, giving him a week to get acclimated before his first race on Monday the 19th. He and his teammates will compete in one of two groups for their specific lightweight quadruple sculls class, with the top two boats from each heat advance to the A Finals. Teams that don't finish within those top two will move into the Repechage (loser's bracket), with one more chance to qualify for the A Finals. Either way his team is guaranteed at least two races, and potentially three.

Richardson says he and his teammates haven't necessarily set lofty expectations; they simply want to perform at their very best and fulfill their full potential.

"We just hope to level up and take it one day at a time," he said. "We know that some of these boats in the final are going to be extraordinarily fast, world record pace, so that's kind of what we're comparing our times to in practice. Obviously weather conditions and equipment play a big role too, but we're coming off a PR in Canada under neutral conditions so we're stoked about that."

The current world record for lightweight quadruple sculls is a sizzling 5 minutes and 32 seconds. Richardson's team's personal best sits at 5:58, which is very respectable considering that world record likely won't be touched by any boat this September.

"Each guy in our boat has a different style, different body type and personality, so that's a challenge in itself to get used to," explained Richardson. "But it's also an advantage and I think we blend a lot better now.

"We're just excited to be able to learn from all the other athletes," he added. "We're not racing with any real expectations; just going there to lay it all out on the line and try to have fun with it. We hope to race as fast as we're capable of, then apply everything to our training going forward and build towards the 2024 Olympic Trials."

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.