Vanuatu’s rowing champion Rillio Rio Rii has completed a gruelling two-week campaign and regatta at the 2019 World Rowing Championships Linz-Ottensheim, Austria.
Rio completed five races in the men's singles competition achieving a personal best time of 7:33 in the semi-finals and edging out the United Arab Emirates sculler to win the H- final match race
"This regatta is the first qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the largest number of entries for a world rowing event, so it was very competitive" Andrew MacKenzie, Rio's coach said.
Forty-four countries entered the men's singles event and the final was raced on Sunday afternoon.
Rio joined a contingent of rowers from developing nations under the guidance of the World Rowing Association's expert coaches for a week-long training camp in Austria prior to the competition.
The Director of the Development programme training camp, Gianni Poglioni commended Rio on his greatly improved technique, fitness, and racing strategy since his first appearance at a World Championship in the single in 2018.
Rio has been dedicated in his training over the past year and it is great to see his results reflecting his commitment.
The Vanuatu Rowing Association (VRA) also congratulated both Rio and his coach, Mackenzie on their strong performance at the World Rowing Championships and is particularly grateful to Mackenzie’s commitment to seeing Rio succeed.
“Without Andrew’s support this journey would not have been possible, so thank you Andrew for the time you have dedicated to challenging Rio on and off the water to achieve a fantastic personal best result” VRA stated.
Photo supplied Caption: Vanuatu Rower Rillio Rio Rii at the championship