Chivalry On The Water

Is being a gentleman on the water something of the past? You know like Bobby Pearce stopping at a 1928 Olympic rowing race to let some ducks pass his lane, or Jack Beresford (seen above), who was in the lead of the 1921 Diamond Sculls final, but stopped rowing to wait for F.E. Eyken of the Netherlands, who had hit the booms. At the end, the Dutchman was the stronger sculler and won with a length and a half.

I am happy to report that chivalry on the water is not dead. To the great names of Pearce and Beresford we can now add James Konopka and Nick Mead of Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia. These young men recently received the Thomas Eakins Medal of the Schuylkill Regatta for showing “great presence, maturity and selflessness and the true spirit of the sport of rowing”. In an under-17 race in the double scull on the Schuylkill, Konopka and Mead stopped rowing to assist another pair of competitors, whose boat had capsized. They stayed with the other boat until a referee’s launch arrived to the spot. Konopka and Mead then continued to row, coming dead last in this 2.5-mile race.

So acted true gentlemen of the sport of rowing! Kudos, gentlemen. (Read more here.)