Georgia Tech Crew Wins Big at World’s Largest Rowing Event

Yellow Jackets Take Home Gold from Boston’s Head of the Charles Regatta
The Georgia Crew Team brought home first-place gold in the Collegiate 4+ event at the Boston Head of the Charles Regatta.

The Georgia Crew Team brought home first-place gold in the Collegiate 4+ event at the Boston Head of the Charles Regatta.

You could call it the Super Bowl of competitive rowing. For decades, in late October, the annual Head of the Charles Regatta has drawn hundreds of thousands of athletes and their boats to Boston’s Charles River from all corners of the globe. It’s the world’s largest two-day rowing race, with heats for everyone from junior racers to Olympic-level crew squads.

This year, “Up with the White and Gold” took on a new, literal meaning for members of the Georgia Tech Crew Team as they brought home first-place gold in the Collegiate 4+ event. It’s a first for Georgia Tech’s program, and a remarkable accomplishment at an event often dominated by schools with crew programs that have been around for almost a century. Georgia Tech was victorious in a field of 40 crews and was left standing on the top podium ahead of teams from Boston College, West Point, UCLA, and Notre Dame.

“What’s so great about our team is that it’s all student-funded, student-run, and almost all of our athletes are walk-ons, many of whom have no prior rowing experience,” said Crew vice president Jacob Sutton. “It’s so awesome to see all the work we put in finally pay off.”

There are more than 95 men and women in the Tech rowing squad.

“We have undergraduate and graduate students, domestic and international students, from many different majors in every college — we are representative of campus as a whole,” said Galvin Brady, Crew president. “We are proud to bring success to Georgia Tech.”

The success didn’t stop in Boston. Georgia Tech’s crew team brought home three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals from the Head of the Hooch regatta held in Chattanooga. Georgia Tech was the ACC conference points winner, and the second-place team overall among 62 squads.

“This is an exciting time in our club’s rich 33-year history,” Brady said. “We hope to capitalize on this by winning again at our regional and national championship regattas in the spring.”

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