Sault rower wins gold internationally

The list of gold medalists from Sault Ste. Marie has grown.

Local rower Karl Zimmerman recently competed in the Under-23 World Rowing Championships held in Bulgaria in late July.

Zimmermann was named to the Canadian team in early-July and competed in the men’s quad event, where he and his teammates won gold.

“It happened in five minutes and forty-five seconds but when you cross that line it’s just an incredible feeling,” Zimmermann said of winning gold. “It’s the culmination of years of work for all of us. I was so proud to be a part of a crew that had done this.

“When we were on the podium and they raised the Canadian flag and we sung the national anthem, I’ve never been more proud in my life,” Zimmermann added. “That was really something special that I’ll remember forever.”

Zimmermann, who is still relatively new to the sport or rowing, called the event “incredible.”

“It was my first international competition so it was incredible to be with all the other athletes and people,” Zimmermann said of the overall experience. “It’s a pretty cool atmosphere to be a part of where everybody around you is a champion in their own country and you have a chance to race them and become friends with them.”

“The race strategy of an international event is totally different than a regional even or a club event in Canada,” Zimmermann also said. “The athletes are mentally a lot tougher. They don’t fall for the little games you usually play during a race to get an advantage over somebody. The athletes there are of such top quality that those games don’t work.”

Zimmermann said that learning how rowers from other countries prepared for events was also a learning experience while at the event.

The 20-year-old got into rowing three years ago when he began his post-secondary education at McMaster University.

“I spent (the first year) learning how to train in the rowing environment,” Zimmermann said shortly after making the Canadian team in early-July. “Last summer, that’s where I really decided that I wanted to excel. The past twelve months, I’ve really put in some hard hours and it really paid off in the spring.”

Zimmermann is returning to McMaster for the upcoming school year, which will see him enter the fourth year of study. The Echo Bay native is enrolled in biochemical engineering.​

(Photo: Karl Zimmermann and his teammates during training prior to the World Championships. Courtesy Karl Zimmermann)​​​