California Rowing Club’s Ben Davison Named USRowing’s Male Athlete of the Year
Ben Davison capped off an outstanding campaign by being named Male Athlete of the Year by USRowing. The award was determined by athletes and coaches of the senior national team that competed at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
“It’s very to cool to win this award,” said Davison. “I’m particularly honored because you get voted on by your peers. There were a lot of great athletes on the team this year, so to have that kind of respect and appreciation really means a lot.”
Training with the California Rowing Club, Davison specialized in the Single Sculls competition in 2022—his first time racing in that category at the senior level. Despite his relative lack of experience, Davison excelled, starting off the season by capturing first place in the National Selection Regatta race in Sarasota, Florida, earning him an automatic place at the World Rowing Cup in Poland.
In Poland, Davison had a standout performance, capturing third in the Single Sculls race to earn a Bronze Medal for Team USA. Facing off against the best rowers in the globe, Davison also had a strong showing at the World Championship in Czech Republic. He finished 8th in the Single Sculls—the best finish of any US Single Sculler at a World Championship since 1998.
That finish in the World Championship would have been good enough to land Davison in the Olympics if this was a qualifying year. The US national team hasn’t placed a representative from the Single Sculls discipline in the Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games, putting that result in perspective.
“I feel really good about how I competed this year,” said Davison, who will received his Athlete of the Year award at the Golden Oars Celebration in New York City on November 2. “The goal of this year was really give it a go and see if the Singles route could be an option for me for the Olympics. Obviously, I have a lot to talk about with the coaches in the coming months about where I want to go from here, but I’m happy with how I performed.”
Davison, who was born in Durham, England recently returned from a two-week vacation in Europe. He’ll be training in Oakland with the CRC for the next several months, as he doesn’t have a major competition on the near horizon. During that time, he’ll meet with his coaches to determine what specification he’ll focus on to put him on the best track to qualify for the 2024 Olympics games in Paris.
When looking back on his successful 2022 campaign, Davison was effusive in his praise for the CRC and its coaching staff, which includes Mike Teti and Skip Kielt.
“The CRC has been absolutely fantastic,” said Davison. “This year wouldn’t have been possible without the California Rowing Club and the support of the Rogers’ family. We have a great group of guys here and we are all incredibly grateful to be able to train out here. I’m looking forward to being here for the next two years.”