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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Rising senior Todd Mickelson will soon head overseas to Scotland to compete in the World Rowing Under-23 Championships, which take place from July 26-29. Mickelson will compete in a light weight double scull along with James Donovan, a rising sophomore from Princeton University. The duo will leave for Scotland on July 21 and have one week to train before competition gets underway.
“Being able to represent the United States at the Under-23 World Championships in the Lightweight Men's Double (LM2x) is great in many ways,” explained Mickelson. “First of all, this is the first step into the world of elite rowing, which is the next level above collegiate rowing and involves greater competition on the international scale. I am excited to race against crews from all over the globe and see how we stack up against them.” He added, “This will be the first time in the last 17 years that the United States has sent a Lightweight Men's Double to the Under-23 World Championships. Therefore, our qualification is great for myself athletically and our country as well.”
Mickelson has been a member of the Lehigh Men’s Varsity eight for the past four seasons, where he sat stroke seat this past spring. Following the competitive racing season at Lehigh, he left for the United States Rowing National Team selection camp in Connecticut during June and July. The camp is specifically designed to select lightweight oarsmen (less than 160 pounds) to represent the United States in the upcoming Under-23 World Championships. In order to qualify for the race, Mickelson and Donovan were required to row a 2000-meter race piece in under the 6:36 time-standard, which they successfully completed, finishing in a time of 6:34.
This is the second consecutive year that Lehigh has placed a rower in the Under-23 World Championships. Last year, varsity oarsmen and stroke seat Jon Winter ‘06 competed in Belgium. His Lightweight Quad finished second in the world, less than one second behind the first place finisher.
