Rob Kania (left) & Ben Murphy (right) are out for a morning rowing practice.

Courtesy of Ben Murphy

Ben Murphy started off the 2011-2012 season as the lone member of the Ryerson rowing team. He spent months training without the assistance of a coach, campus facility or teammates, and watched as the team was demoted to club status. Now, he’s leading the way for the team’s rebirth.

It was back in August that the rowing team coach Dominic Kahn resigned to spend more time with his infant son. Soon after Kahn’s departure, Murphy stood by as the team of 12 was reduced to one – himself.

Fast-forward to today and things are looking a lot better for Murphy and returning teammate Rob Kania. They have a new coach – Arden Beddoes – and were joined by three novices in December, who they are currently coaching. Murphy, Kania, and teammate Stephanie Steinhoff competed at the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships last Sunday, Feb. 5. Murphy had a strong showing, taking home a bronze medal after placing third in the Senior Men’s B category.

Though he is pleased with bronze, like a true competitor, he feels he could have improved on the outcome.

“It felt okay,” Murphy said, describing his performance. “I was close to what I was expecting to get in terms of time; I just had no finish.”

Murphy finished with a time of 6:14.5 in the 2,000-metre race, just below University of Western Ontario’s Jerome van Leeuwen at 6:13.6 and Brock University’s Tim Shrijver at 5:54.7, who placed second and first place respectively.

According to Murphy, Shrijver took off “flying” early on and was able to maintain his lead throughout the race, while Murphy himself kept steady with a few other rowers.

“There were a few other guys hanging with me; I had a really solid pace,” he said.

It was at the 1,000-metre mark that Murphy began to feel the pain, concentrating on getting more strokes in at a higher rate. “My legs are turning into jelly,” he recalled of how he felt at the half-way point in the race.

With just 100 metres to go, silver medalist van Leeuwen began to catch up to Murphy and would eventually pass him, beating him by a mere second. Once the race was over, Murphy said he collapsed from exhaustion and had to be helped up by a coach before emptying the contents of his stomach.

“That was the fastest race I’ve ever done and the most I’ve ever put into one,” he said, adding that it was also the first time he ever vomited afterwards. This was Murphy’s third time competing in the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships and his first time earning a medal.

Ryerson graduate and St. Catharines Rowing Club member Matthew Buie also competed in the championships, receiving a gold medal in the Senior Men’s category with a time of 6:07.8.

Teammates Steinhoff placed 17th in Senior Women and Kania placed 14th in Senior Men.

Murphy’s next race will be on March 3 at the Ontario Ergometer Championships at Ridley College in St. Catharines.