A funny thing happened to Peter McClelland on his way to the running track as a freshman at the University of Western Ontario — he got his feet wet in rowing.
Although he’d never been anywhere near a boathouse, he quickly learned to appreciate the pre-dawn mornings on the water.
The two-a-day, bone-wearying workouts are now routine and part of the price rowers pay without a whimper.
“I came into university thinking I would run track,” said McClelland, a distance runner as a student at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, who earlier this year, was named Western’s male athlete of the year.
“But I soon realized track doesn’t start until November so there was a few months I needed to do something else.”
To fill the void, the 25-year-old King City resident attended a novice class for beginners.
“I realized immediately I had a better knack for rowing,” said McClelland, who at six-foot-three, 210 pounds is physically suited to rowing.
“It’s been great. It’s funny how things happen but (rowing) sure has become a big part of my life.“
McClelland, who has one more year at Western to complete his master of arts in kinesiology, was named the Canadian University Rowing Association athlete of the year for 2006 after winning gold as team captain in the provincial and national men’s heavyweight eights championships.
He also represented Canada at the 2006 Commonwealth rowing championships, helping win gold in men’s eights and a silver medal in pairs.
Injuries curtailed his chances to crack the national squad in 2004 and 2005, but he is eager to return to the national team selection in a bid for the 2012 Olympics in London, England.
“It’s a whole different experience when you’re living, breathing and eating rowing every day,” he said.
“It’s a huge, huge goal, but four years down the road it is definitely where I’d like to be. I know what’s out there and what it takes.
A hectic summer awaits as McClelland is part of a Western men’s heavyweight eights team which is scheduled to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta in July.