Two CURC golds for DM grad
By Bernie Puchalski - November 15, 2021
Two weekends ago, St. Catharines Rowing Club member Giancarlo DiPompeo made a triumphant return to the local rowing scene.
Competing for the University of Victoria at the South Niagara Rowing Club in Welland, the 18-year-old Thorold native won double gold at the Canadian University Rowing Championships to help the UVic men’s squad capture the team title.
The Denis Morris grad combined with Matthew Thompson to win the lightweight men’s double and then teamed with Thompson, Riley Raso, Patrick Keane and Jordan MacDougall to cross the finish line first in the lightweight men’s coxed four.
“It was definitely a surprise but I didn’t think it was out of reach,” DiPompeo said of his double gold performance. “Once we got there, we felt pretty good but we didn’t know anything. We didn’t know how we would do but we knew we had put in the work to be there.”
In Saturday’s time trials in the double, DiPompeo and his partner finished a few seconds behind Brock in second place and that gave them a boost of confidence heading into Sunday’s finals
“We knew we had a good four and had a really good shot of winning but after how we did in the double, it locked down that confidence and belief in the four,” he said. “It sparked a big belief and we knew we the opportunity presented itself for us to go on the next day and perform.”
DiPompeo and his crewmates did just that and they were multiple champions when the regatta ended Sunday.
“It was quite a lot to take in all at once,” he said. “I was feeling overwhelmed with happiness and joy. It was one of the biggest things that I had ever accomplished in sport thus far.
“I knew that I had worked hard in the years leading up to it and finally it really felt like it had paid off and I could finally see the results.”
DiPompeo started rowing in Grade 9 at Denis Morris and that journey culminated — at least for 2021 — with the CURC performance.
“It was great and I couldn’t wait to share the win with the team. We knew we had won the (team) banner and we couldn’t wait to get back home and celebrate.” The twin golds capped an excellent year for DiPompeo. In the summer, he competed for Canada in a quad at the junior world rowing championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with Payton Gauthier of the Niagara Falls Rowing Club, Ridley Graduate Boat Club member Shane Keagan and Adrian Breen of the Don Rowing Club.
“It was an awesome experience and I was able to learn a lot about racing on the international stage,” DiPompeo said. “There is a level of fitness and skill required and that really helped me out here because UVic had adopted that international style of racing as well.
“It was definitely a great transition from one to the next and there was also a few guys here too that I was able to share some of my experiences with. Some of them have gone to worlds as well so it helped a lot.”
DiPompeo headed to Victoria with bit of trepidation.
“I was looking at the States and it didn’t work out and I wasn’t sure how it was going to be. It was almost like a last-minute thing but I felt confident in my decision and I wanted to see where it would take me.”
Within the first week of arriving in Victoria, he knew he had made the right decision.
“After that, I had full confidence that I could commit wholeheartedly to this program and I was accepted very well into the program. The culture they have built here is amazing.”
He is studying engineering.
“It is a heavy workload and there are quite a few nights where 4:30 a.m. comes early but it is part of what it is and I enjoy it. It is what I want to do and I am going to do it.”
DiPompeo is a two-time winner of the Ontario ergometer championships and was part of a St. Catharines Rowing Club eight and four that placed third at Henley in the summer after his Grade 10 year.