Saint John Times Globe - Monday, June 17, 1996

East Riverside’s Ed Winchester earns a spot on lightweight men’s 8 team

Sports Week

Ed Winchester

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - After 10 years of slow steady climbing up the ranks of Canadian rowing, East Riverside native Ed Winchester catapulted on to the eight-man team that will represent Canada at World Championships in Scotland Aug. 7-11.

It wasn't enough that the 25- year-old get by at qualifiers, he had to blow his competitors out of the water.

Winchester was the fastest over two, days of gruelling timed tryouts Friday and Saturday as 18 world-class rowers from across the country competed for spots on the lightweight men's 8 team.

The former New Brunswick provincial team member, who began rowing 10 years ago with the Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club, posted the fastest average time of four minutes and 54 seconds after four back-to-back 1,500-metre races. Teammate Graham MacLaren of Victoria was half-a-second behind on average.

The Saint John High School graduate beat two Olympic spares in the first cut, guaranteeing him one of the coveted eight positions in the boat after the first session of qualifying.

"It was quite a coup for me," said Winchester, breathless with excitement during a telephone interview from his home in St. Catharines yesterday.

"I was so hungry for this. I knew I had to attack every race or I wouldn't make it. And I've wanted to do this for so long."

Indeed, ever since Winchester witnessed local rowers Chris Flood and Wayne Macfarlane succeed in going to the Pan-Am Games and the World Championships in 1987 and 1992 respectively.

The eight-man team, which needs only to make the time standard for Worlds in London before competing in Scotland, is already in the hunt for a medal.

Coach Chris Cookson is drooling over the times set this weekend. They cap a stellar performance last month in Germany during which the Canadian development team Winchester was on placed third, just half-a-second shy of a silver medal.

The Canadian team competing in the Olympics will not compete at world championships.

"This is really the pinnacle of the sport," said Winchester. "Of course, it'll be overshadowed by the Olympics but still, it's an excellent opportunity," added Winchester, one of six first-time world competitors on the Canadian lightweight men's 8 squad.

Winchester is the only team member east of Toronto to make the a Canadian rowing team since Flood, the technical vice-president of Rowing New Brunswick, sculled with the Canadian four-man team at the '92 Worlds. Joining Winchester are Olympic spares Bryn Thompson (Victoria) and Chris Davidson (Toronto), Ben Storey (Yukon), Jon &are (Toronto), Graham MacLaren (Victoria), Ross Beat- tie (St. Catharines) and Len Diplock (Toronto). St. Catharines native Chris Taylor is the coxswain.

"It's taken so long," said Winchester. "But I finally broke through."