Tokyo Institute of Technology: Tokyo Tech rowers third at 44th East Japan Rookie Competition

The Tokyo Tech Rowing Club has finished third in the men’s coxed four category of the 44th East Japan Rookie Competition, held on October 17 at the Toda Boat Course in Saitama Prefecture. Under calm yet chilly conditions, the Tokyo Tech team finished the 1,000 m course in a time of 4:23.09.

The East Japan Rookie Competition brings together rowers in the East Japan area who are in their first or second year of competitive rowing. This was the first actual race for the Tokyo Tech rookie team, which consisted of four 1st-year students and one 2nd-year student. Throughout the season, they have held circuit training sessions on Zoom and sought other creative ways of staying fit.

In line with the commands of their cox, the four Tokyo Tech rowers maintained a steady pace in the first half of the race, and then put in a strong last spurt during the second 500 m to finish third.

Men’s coxed four
In this category, four rowers propel the boat with sweep oars, one oar per rower, while one cox steers the boat. The third-place team consisted of:

Keitaro Sonoki, 2nd year, Chemical Science and Engineering
Takumi Hirose, 1st year, School of Science
Yu Akimoto, 1st year, School of Materials and Chemical Technology
Kotaro Yoshida, 1st year, School of Life Science and Technology
Yusuke Yoshino, 1st year, School of Materials and Chemical Technology
Comments from crew leader
Keitaro Sonoki
The Tokyo Tech Rowing Club finished third in the men’s coxed four category of this competition. I am extremely pleased with this result, considering how much our activities and practice time have been restricted due to COVID-19. I have fully realized during this pandemic that it is important to reassert what we can do — not lament about what we cannot do — and to work hard not just in our student club activities, but also in other areas of our lives.