Justin Keen has not had the kind of season he had hoped for when he set out to make one of the Schuylkill Navy crews for the 2017 World Championships. The Philadelphia based cooperative, consisting of crews drawn from the clubs of Boat House Row, held a selection camp and won US senior trial in the men's quad.
The crew finished last at Worlds and Keen sat out. Saturday, Keen and his doubles partner Erik Frid won a measure of redemption for the Schuylkill Navy by holding off a serious challenge by the Irish lightweight men's Olympic silver medalists, Paul and Gary O'Donovan to win a second consecutive Head of the Charles.
row2k had a chance to talk with Keen after the race to talk about what the win means for the Philadelphia effort and for Keen.
row2k: What does this win mean for the Schuylkill Navy sculling group effort?
Keen: This is a great boost to our confidence. Both of us had a rough year at Worlds. I didn't even make the boat. So, it's good to take a clean slate and make the most of it, and have a boost going into the winter.
row2k: What is the goal of the Philadelphia group?
Keen: The idea is that no one club has a diversity of experience, resources and background to support an initiative like a quad, because it takes a lot of logistical support. But with four, five, six clubs combined and the resources of 12 and 13 clubs, it really makes a big difference.
Philadelphia is a great place, not only to start a quad camp, but mainly give people a chance to row and start careers, and settle down, put roots in the ground.
row2k: Does this win feed into it?
Keen: Definitely, this is a big boost. I think we had four boats starting first today, so it's good to be a part of an initiative as big as that. I didn't see the results for all of those events, but I know the presence this year is much better than last year, and last year much better than the year before.
It's cool to see it taking off, every year we win things like this, definitely rally more support back home.
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