University of Delaware Alumnus Jimmy McCullough, Class of 2019, recently competed in Belgrade, Serbia, at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Jimmy raced in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls for Team USA in which he and his partner, Zachary Heese, went up against dozens of countries including Italy, Switzerland, and Greece. According to Jimmy, it was a “rollercoaster” of a week. “All the athletes have the same goal and you need to be able to focus on yourself once you get on the water,” Jimmy recounted. Unlike a collegiate regatta that is usually two days over a weekend, the World Rowing Championships consist of a whole week of racing. A “week of excitement” is the way Jimmy put it. Through heats, quarter finals, semifinals, and finals, Jimmy was completely drained by the end of it all. Jimmy’s World Rowing Championships experience is over for this year, but he’s already training again and looking to qualify the LM2x for the Paris Olympics at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta which will be held next May.
Jimmy’s time at UDMC was also memorable. “Being a part of UDMC built my grit,” he said. He stated that joining a club team instead of a varsity program gave him a chip on his shoulder and a desire to always get the job done. He felt that this gave him an advantage when competing for Team USA’s LM2X to go to Belgrade. Jimmy’s senior season was a “storybook ending” as he put it, with the Blue Hen men’s heavyweight eight winning gold at the ACRA Club National Championships over perennial powerhouse University of Michigan’s top boat.
