Peter Spira ‘22 is a national champion! He is one half of the duo that won the Men’s U19 2-, with a time of 6:59.032, at the USRowing Summer National Championships in Camden, NJ on July 15.
Peter (pictured above on the left) is rowing this summer for the Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association. He teamed with Lars Finlayson of St. Joe's to defeated the heavily favored Team USRowing crew, and a field of 41 crews from around the country, in the final.
The BRSA crew broke out into the lead off the start and held it for the first 1000 meters. In the next 750 meters, both crews traded leads, with no more than a few feet separating them at any time. In the final moments of the race, the team from Buffalo raised the stroke rate, and charged through the finish line, defeating USRowing by .283 seconds.
"It was great seeing these two rival school athletes come together this summer, after directly competing against each other this spring, to achieve such an incredible accomplishment," said Canisius Head Rowing Coach RJ Rubino '09 (pictured in the center of the top photo) who was with the BRSA crew at the championships. "They (Peter and Lars) came up with a name to credit both their school programs -- St. Joenisius!"
Click here for ESPN video coverage. The U19 2- final is approximately 1:22-1:30 into the coverage.
Click here to view the official results page.