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Rowing<br />
Sport for life – Igor Boraska<br />
Igor Boraska (CRO) at 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta, Bled, Slovenia © FISA<br />
Boraska first competed on the international scene in 1993 at the World Rowing<br />
Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. At that time, he didn’t know that<br />
he would spend 15 years competing at the elite international level. Now retired<br />
from elite rowing, Boraska is making his first appearance at the World Rowing<br />
Masters Regatta, currently taking place in Bled, Slovenia. Boraska says with a<br />
smile, he’s “finally old enough”.<br />
Boraska was first entered to race a masters regatta in 2007 in Zagreb, Croatia.<br />
He was 37 and a B category masters, but was still a competitive rower on the<br />
Croatian national team. “The guys who are masters in Croatia said, ‘come on,<br />
you shouldn’t do it. You are too young, you are too fit’. I scratched my entry<br />
for the single sculls and I waited all the way until this year, yeah ten years later,”<br />
Boraska says.<br />
But in those ten years, he has barely put down the oar. “I think it was never more<br />
than a few weeks that I was without an oar. Even when I stopped rowing for the<br />
national team, I always trained. Early morning, late afternoons, whatever. And<br />
now I find it just natural to wake up a bit earlier and do a training session,” he<br />
says.<br />
A regular competitor at the World Rowing Coastal Championships, Boraska<br />
says coastal rowing is a natural transition for a coastal-born Croatian. He also<br />
takes the opportunity to race in national events in Croatia and other events<br />
around Europe and around the world. The Masters, he says, is the most fun<br />
event. “It’s a different feel. No stress. When I am on the start, I don’t feel any<br />
pressure.” No pressure, though, doesn’t mean it’s not competitive. “I see a lot of<br />
crews who are really, really fast, even for senior standards. There are really lots of<br />
crews that take it very seriously and if I want to beat them, I need to take my<br />
rowing more seriously.”<br />
Boraska has used Bled as a chance to reconnect with people he had not seen in<br />
years. The first race in a double was the first time he had ever rowed together with<br />
his double’s partner. After a 4th place finish, Boraska says they will step up their<br />
training for next year. “I am training for the New York Marathon this year, so I<br />
do more running than rowing. Next year I will have more rowing, definitely,”<br />
Boraska says.<br />
As he gets closers to 50 years old, Boraska does not seem to be slowing down, or<br />
letting go of the oar and says it has been helped by the positive relationship he<br />
has maintained with rowing.<br />
“I know many people who really had a tough time, many, many more hours [of<br />
training] than I did. In Croatia, we don’t have as many training hours as other<br />
national teams. I don’t feel burned out, so that’s one of the biggest reasons [I’ve<br />
stayed involoved]. Nobody is as fit as before, but considering our age, I think<br />
we’re in pretty good shape,” he laughs.<br />
With five races to do this weekend, Boraska is among the thousands of masters<br />
rowers who continue to train and stay active even into their eighties. The<br />
atmosphere at the masters regatta is full of energy and good competitive spirit.<br />
Boraska sees rowing as keeping his body healthy, noting that his back hurt more<br />
when he stopped rowing to train for other sports. “I would say that rowing<br />
actually helps your body, helps the muscles and helps your back to have better<br />
strength and actually to have less pain than ordinary people who are spending<br />
more hours sitting working. They probably have more back pains than the<br />
people you see here rowing at the masters regatta.”<br />
Boraska sees all types of rowing as the perfect way to promote a healthy way of<br />
life. And, he says, he’ll be back next year. MS<br />
Credit: World Rowing<br />
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