Jan 24, 2024 - News

USF team wins Atlantic rowing competition

Yacob Reyes

The team of four, Lauren Shea, Noelle Helder, Isabelle Cote and Chantale Begin . — Lauren Shea, Noelle Helder, Isabelle Côté and Chantale Bégin. Photo: World's Toughest Row

Chantale Bégin, a biology professor at the University of South Florida, and her team, Salty Science, took first place among women in the "World's Toughest Row-Atlantic."

Why it matters: The team placed seventh overall in the annual competition and became the first North American team to win the women's class.

Salty Science entered the race to raise awareness about marine conservation; they had no prior rowing experience.

Details: The rowing competition spans 3,000 miles from Spain's Canary Islands to Antigua and Barbuda, according to a press release.

Salty Science finished the race in a little over a month.

What they're saying: "Winning was not the goal initially," Bégin says. "We set out to come across safely, have a good time doing it, and row as fast as we could."

Add Axios on Google

USF team wins Atlantic rowing competition

More Tampa Bay stories