Norwalk River Rowing Pair Win Gold at Canadian Henley

Photo: Liam McDonough (left) and Kris Petreski with their first place trophy. Courtesy of Andrea Cragin.

Story submitted by Andrea Cragin

Norwalk River Rowing’s Kris Petreski and Liam McDonough won a gold medal at the 132 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The Canadian Henley is widely regarded as the premier amateur rowing event in North America. This year, the regatta was held from Aug. 3 to 10 and attracted 2,173 crews from 136 teams in 10 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Great Britain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Mexico.

McDonough and Petreski won their gold medal in the men’s under 17 double (a boat where two rowers each use two sculling oars). Their double took first place in every qualifying race.

The final was held in a strong headwind and choppy conditions that caused them to “catch a crab” (where an oar gets stuck in the water and slows the boat dramatically) in the last 10 strokes of their sprint, but they were able to regain both their composure and the lead.

This is the first Henley Gold won by Norwalk River Rowing in the prestigious Canadian Henley Regatta and the only Henley Gold won by a Connecticut crew this year. McDonough and Petreski also rowed the final of the men’s single dash (an open age category) with Petreski taking third.

It was a record year for Norwalk River Rowing at the Canadian Henley, with the club placing two additional boats in the finals, all under 17 singles. Norwalk River Rowing also advanced four other boats to the semi-finals. Norwalk resident Brian Helms helped power the men’s under 19 four plus coxswain that advanced to the semi-finals and also stroked the men’s under 19 pair that missed making finals by only nine-tenths of a second.

Fellow Norwalk residents Nicole Vacas and Amelia Ornato rowed a women’s under 19 double that also made it to the semi-finals. There was one additional men’s under 17 single qualifying for semi-finals.

NRRA’s Nicole Vacas and Amelia Ornato rowed a women’s under 19 double to the semi-finals.


Head Coach Yuri Kolomiets said “Our rowers were up against some of the finest rowers in the world. A Henley Gold is an impressive achievement. All of our athletes worked hard mentally and physically to get to this point and brought their ‘A game.’ They should be very proud of their results. If they continue to master their technique, they should have a very good fall season.”

The Norwalk River Rowing Association is a community-based rowing organization promoting a lifelong passion for the sport of rowing – regardless of age or income. Rowing is a sport that people generally only begin in late middle school or high school or even after. If you are interested in joining the team or learning to row, check out the team’s website or Facebook page.