Local rower Kristopher Fisher participates in a signing ceremony with Temple University at Oak Ridge High School on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Local rower Kristopher Fisher, who attended Oak Ridge High School last year and signed with Temple University in February, will compete in world rowing championships in the Czech Republic this week.
Fisher and Cooper Tuckerman of Bozeman, Montana, will race in the Junior Men’s Double Sculls event at the World Rowing Junior Championships, which are scheduled from August 8-12 in Racice, outside of Prague in the Czech Republic. (You can see the start list here and the Heat 2 start list for Wednesday here.) More than 750 athletes from 57 nations are competing.
Fisher and Tuckerman swept the Men’s U19 2x at the USRowing National Team Trials in July, winning the best-of-three format handily with victories in both the first and second event, according to the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.
On July 5, Fisher and Tuckerman were tightly matched by Jeremy Wolpert of San Juan Capistrano, California, and Michael Fairley of Saratoga Springs, New York, through the first 500 meters before pulling away in the middle 1,000, finishing in 6:56.41. The second place pair finished well back in 7:08.03.
On that Saturday, in a weather-delayed start, Kris and Cooper again dominated, finishing in 6:53.75, the ORRA said.
After finishing ninth nationally in the 1x at the 2018 USRowing Junior National Championships, Fisher trained this summer at the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the ORRA said. He will attend Temple University in the fall, rowing for their lightweight men’s program.
Tuckerman will attend Dartmouth and row for their lightweight men’s program.
Kristopher Fisher of Atomic Rowing is pictured above in this photo submitted by Head Coach Shannon Moore.
In July, Kimberly Bell, principal broker of The REAL ESTATE Office in Oak Ridge, said Fisher had a successful weekend at the USRowing Club Nationals in Camden, New Jersey, with five days of racing and 1,700 crews. Fisher is the son of Kimberly (Richard) Bell and Harry (Pam) Fisher.
“The best of the best came out on top,” Bell said of the USRowing Club Nationals races.
Fisher raced with the Vesper Boat Club of Philadelphia. Vesper, the returning champion of overall points, retained the Colgan Cup by holding that position again for 2018, Bell said.
Fisher contributed to the points with a gold medal in the men’s intermediate lightweight 8+. The men’s boat narrowly won with a photo finish. They crossed the line .187 ahead of Riverside Crew, Bell said.
Fisher immediately went into the men’s intermediate lightweight 2X with Tuckerman.
“After a long weekend of racing, Tuckerman and Fisher worked hard to keep their boat in the top spots,” Bell said. “They won the silver medal.”
She said Fisher and Tuckerman racked up another win at Independence Day Regatta and the privilege to represent USRowing National team by winning Junior World Trials earlier in July.
“They will travel to Czech Republic in August wearing the red, white, and blue,” Bell said. “The men will be in the open double competing against the best in the world, and all of the teams will be much bigger than this fast, lightweight crew.”
The boys had to raise an estimated $15,000 to pay for coaching and associated costs, travel and transportation, and boat rental and entry fees, among other costs, and they set up a GoFundMe account to help defray some of the expenses. There were also donation and sponsorship opportunities.
Coach Evelyn Radford, Kristopher Fisher, Veda Seay, Clara Hay, and Coach Shannon Moore of Atomic Rowing are pictured above in this submitted photo.
In May, ORRA Head Coach Shannon Moore said Atomic Rowing had sent 50 athletes to compete in the Southeast Youth Championships held in Sarasota, Florida, on May 12-13. Atomic had several boats advance out of time trials into semifinals and finals on that Saturday and Sunday, Moore said.
Fisher, who was then an ORHS senior, placed third racing in the Men’s A final in a single.
Clara Hay, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School, and Veda Seay, a sophomore at Oak Ridge High School, also had a third-place finish in the Women’s A final in the pair, Moore said.
Fisher, Hay, and Seay earned a bid to race in USRowing’s Youth National Championships, which was held June 8-10 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.
“These Atomic rowers will be competing at the premier youth rowing event in the United States, with approximately 1,500 athletes vying for national titles in 18 boat classes,” Moore said in May.
Learn more about the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships, including how to follow them, here. Fisher and Tuckerman are in the 9:36 a.m. heat on Lane 5. You can follow on www.worldrowing.com.
Clara Hay and Veda Seay of Atomic Rowing are pictured above in this photo submitted by Head Coach Shannon Moore.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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