Best and Grady Prepare for World Cup II

The 2024 Olympics might still be two years away, but California Rowing Club members Michael Grady and Justin Best already have their eyes firmly set on Paris.

Earlier this month, the duo earned a huge boost in their quest to qualify for the Olympics when they captured the Men’s Pairs Competition at the U.S. National Selection Regatta in New Jersey. By virtue of that victory, the twosome earned an automatic trip the World Rowing Cup in Poznan Poland, where they’ll face some of the world’s strongest rowers.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough competition,” said Best, who grew up in Delaware and raced collegiately with Drexel University. “I know the Romanian pair who took silver at Tokyo is back on the international circuit, so they should be there, Great Britain is sending three pairs to the World Cup in Serbia, so their winner will be in Poland. New Zealand should have a strong squad as well. A lot of returning Olympians will be participating, which will certainly make it a challenge.”

Both Best and Grady said that training for the World Cup race—currently happening in Oakland under the tutelage of Coach Mike Teti—is going well. The pair recently switched their positions—with Grady taking over the stroke side and Best transitioning to bow—but the adjustment has been seamless, according to Grady.

“We are pretty interchangeable,” said Grady, a Pittsburgh native who competed for Cornell University. “And this is a great opportunity to improve our technique.”

Coach Teti said the training switch will make the pair more versatile, a critical asset when the long-term goal is qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris—at any discipline.

“Rowing the men’s pair is probably the most difficult discipline, so I think it’s important for these guys to avoid being one-dimensional,” said Teti. “By mixing it up, it enhances their chances for qualifying in 2024. And as far as their training is going, we have some seen some real nice improvements. I’ve been very happy with their practices lately.”

With six of the 10 CRC members currently in Sacramento as part of the US Rowing Selection Camp—which will determine who will represent the country in the Men’s 4- or 4x races in Poland—the Oakland boathouse has been a bit quieter of late, but that hasn’t deterred the focus of Grady and Best.

“I’m not going to lie, I definitely miss the guys being around here,” said Grady. “It’s a little lonely, but at this point in our careers, we know we have to just to push through that.”