Can Elizabeth Gilmore go for the double in the Versa Challenge? 

World Rowing caught up with the 2023 Women’s World Rowing Versa Challenge Champion Elizabeth Gilmore, as she prepares to defend her title in the upcoming World Rowing Indoor Championships in Prague, Czechia, this year. 

In 2023, during the World Rowing Indoor Championships (WRICH) in Mississauga, Canada, a new indoor rowing competition format was introduced, the Versa Challenge. Instead of one event, athletes competed in multiple formats in a point-based system across two days to expose athletes to unfamiliar racing scenarios, especially as competitors may not be informed about the race formats in advance. The USA’s Elizabeth Gilmore won the Versa Challenge ahead of Anna Muehle (Germany) and Charlotte Dixon (Great Britain) on the Women’s side.

This year, Gilmore could be the first to defend the title. Reflecting on her experience, she says, “Last year’s Versa format was exciting and novel. I would normally compete with targeted training and a clear race strategy, with a certain level of anxiety, knowing what each point of a 2k or 5k feels like. But with all the unknowns around the Versa Challenge, my main goal was to perform to the best of my ability, which was refreshing.”

The Versa Challenge adds a new dynamic to indoor rowing for both athletes and spectators. Gilmore agrees, saying, “What this format does is to really showcase the various opportunities that indoor rowing has beyond just pace. With all of the metrics that are captured so cleanly, the race organisers can place additional constraints around variables like stroke rate to provide a different challenge or can award points for multiple parts of a single race to force a greater degree of strategy than competitors would typically use for a 2k. That can be exciting to watch.”

However, Gilmore added that there might be additional visual aids that could be included to draw in more spectators, noting, “One of the main challenges as a spectator is that there’s not a clear indication of who is leading in a race without looking at an external monitor with the virtual boat placement.”

Gilmore is both the defending champion and the top qualifier, but she doesn’t take it for granted: “What was very apparent in last year’s competition is that it tests much more than just speed. Kirsten Kline was and is faster than me across most distances, and I was shocked to finish ahead of her. I’m well aware that this competition is anyone’s for the taking.”

Given the unusual format, athletes face a conundrum on how best to train. On her own preparation, Gilmore offers her approach: “The backbone of most training plans is a good amount of steady state, a smaller amount of hard conditioning, and strength training. What differentiates Versa training from more standard indoor disciplines is that we need to be prepared for a variety of distances and stroke rates. Hence, the hard work covers a greater variety of distances and some rate-capped work.”

Gilmore’s considerations extend to getting consistency even on different rowing display metrics, such as on calories, seen more commonly on Crossfit or in gyms rather than boat club rowers. Gilmore explains, “I usually have pace displayed on the PM5, and I have been talking with Cameron Buchan – my coach and fellow 2024 Versa competitor – about whether it makes sense to practice with other displays. There’s a cubic relationship between watts and pace, but calories are a different matter.”

Athletes would be hoping for a format that favours their style. Gilmore would like for an “elimination challenge” this year, where the slowest competitor would be knocked out after each interval, and therefore introduce a pacing strategy. “The indoor rowing community has a knack for coming up with fun challenges.” Laughs Gilmore, adding, “At one-point last year, the guys were trying to see how few strokes they could take for a sub-7:00 2k, and I did a version with a minimal stroke sub-8:00 2k. Things like that could make for some interesting competition. I’m really excited to see what World Rowing comes up with.”

The WRICH organisers are as excited as the athletes to showcase what’s in store for the 2024 Versa Challenge on 23-24 February 2024, where ten men and ten women will be competing in Prague, Czechia. Watch this space!