Canmore rower, Team Canada take bronze at world university championships

THE NETHERLANDS – Mikaela Holthuis laughed at the prospect of proudly wearing her newly won medal at her university graduation ceremony later this summer, but if nothing else, the powerful rower from Canmore said the international prize would be happily displayed at home.

Holthuis and her Canadian eights teammates won bronze at the FISU World University Championship Rowing in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on July 5.

In the fast 2km empty-your-gas-tank race, the United States women’s team powered to gold and Italy took silver. The bronze-winning Canadians were 4.14 seconds behind the Americans.

A natural at rowing, but perhaps her curtain call in the sport, Holthuis said the international race against other students was a good way to put a stamp on her university career.

“It was really interesting to see what the Canadian schools could deliver after racing against each other the last year or so,” said Holthuis. “Within Canada, you know your competition and then now all of the sudden your teammates, so it was a cool shift.”

Describing the medal as the top award she’s earned, Holthuis, who was on the 2023 national championship winning University of Victoria women’s rowing team, had immaculate prerequisites to be named to the FISU team.

Holthuis was a novice when she first started rowing, joining as a walk-on during her first year at UVic. She quickly fell in love with the water sport, where endurance, technique and power are needed for success. Her multi-sport background as a Canmore Wolverine aided in her transition to the water sport.

Sitting in seventh seat in Rotterdam, an essential rower for timing and movement purposes, the former Canmore Wolverine said being in the bumpy Dutch waters was exciting for the team due to it being a first international race for many of them.

In the first FISU heat, the Canadians cruised to victory. It was important for getting a rest day and also lane positioning in the final heat.

“We had no idea how we would stack up against any of the other teams ‘cause we hadn’t raced anyone before,” said Holthuis. “So it was kind of a go in and see how fast you could go.”

The crosswinds were blowing hard against the rowers – a recurring theme of the windy Rotterdam waters. On the final day, race times were changed to earlier in the day to avoid the wind warnings of 60km/h and gusts of up to 75km/h.

In the final race, the Canadians started strong, leading at the 500m and 1,000m markers. However, it was tightly contested and the Americans and Italians overtook the Canucks.

To try and match their counterparts’ efforts, the Canucks called the sprint early.

“It’s one of those things where your legs are burning and you just push through it,” said Holthuis.

A disruptive tailwind made the water worse as the race went on. Rowing is mostly leg-driven, but Holtius said the conditions were tough.

“It was less about general power and who could keep their blades clean out of the water each time,” she said.

“Over the whole two-k, I was happy with how we handled the changing conditions.”

After touring around Europe and reflecting on the race, Holthuis said it was a great experience to see how different countries operate with oars.