Rowing newcomer signs with Syracuse

It has been a whirlwind 18 months for Blessed Trinity student Michael Gore.

In April 2022, the 12B student was among more 1,500 athletes who took part in RBC Training Ground qualifying events across Canada.

“The initial testing at the start of year put you through a scientific testing algorithm which spits out what sport you might be good at,” the 17-year-old Grimsby resident said.

That initial testing concluded Gore would be a fit for rowing and he started training for the sport in July 2022.

“Ever since then I have been all into rowing,” he said.

In October 2022, he was among 100 athletes chosen to compete in the RBC Training Ground National Final in Ottawa in front of scouts from nine national sport organizations.

After testing in events such as a 40-yard sprint, dead lift, broad jump and assault bike test, Gore was one of 30 athletes chosen to receive funding, Olympian mentorship and national sport organization support towards their Olympic dreams.

Shortly afterwards, the 6-foot-6, 230 pounder began training at the Ontario NextGen Performance Centre in Welland.

On Wednesday, all those developments culminated in a signing ceremony at Blessed Trinity where he committed to attend Syracuse University on a rowing scholarship.

“It has definitely been a crazy year and a half for sure seeing my original goal was to be a walk-on basketball player but now I am signing at a D1 school for rowing,” he said. “I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t change anything from switching over to rowing. In fact, I wish I had started in it sooner.”

His journey to Syracuse began when he pulled a 6:14 time on a two-kilometre erg test in April.

“They (U.S. schools) got back to me because of my lack of experience and therefore my potential for rowing.”

In addition to Syracuse, he also visited Boston and had conversations with the University of Washington.

“I settled on Syracuse because it just seemed like the right fit for me. I liked the guys on the team, the coaching was outstanding there and the water was a big thing. They have some of the best water out there. And I just liked the campus feel of Syracuse.”

He realizes he has his work cut out for him there.

“I am going to try and gel with the guys and get a feel for the team and coaches. It is obviously going to be different but I am going to try and put my best foot forward and learn as much as I can because I am still new to the sport.”

Gore is looking forward to getting away.

“I’m am excited about enjoying university life and realizing that I am an also a student as well as an athlete.”

He is planning to study sports psychology.

“I want to work with high performance athletes.”

This past summer, he was a member of Rowing Canada’s CanAmMex squad that competed in a regatta against athletes from Mexico and the United States. He finished fourth in the single and second in the quad.

It was the first big step in translating his training into on-water success.

“You just take it one step at a time. I have had some struggles at the start trying to get the technique down but I have gotten a lot better over the last couple of months. It got to the point where I was able to make the CanAmMex team and that shows some really good progress.”

He is hoping the CanAmMex regatta is only the beginning.

“The next step for me is to make the U23 or junior team this coming summer or doing the best I can in the upcoming regattas,” he said. “It is being consistent and always trying to do all the extra stuff that you can and putting in all the hours of work. I usually do about 18 to 22 hours of training a week at the NextGen Centre. Being that consistent for a year and a bit now has helped me progress exponentially.”

It has been as labour of love.

“It is just the continuous drive that you need to have for it. I just love trying to get better each and every day. Even when you have the off days, you are trying to get better the next day.”