An OCU rower is now a two-time world record holder.
Ruthie Lacy, nursing freshman, set a new world record on the Concept2 Indoor Rower for Lightweight Women 17-18 category, with a mark of 1,116 meters in four minutes. Lacy broke the record Nov. 11, 2020 at Devon Boathouse in Oklahoma City.
This mark tops the previous record of 1,105 meters, set by Austrian rower Lara Tiefenthaler in 2018.
Lacy already owns the one-minute world record for the category, having broken her first world record Sept. 28, 2020 with a mark of 317 meters.
Lacy said she prepared for the record-breaking attempt the same way she would any other day of practice.
“I just kind of went to practice as usual,” Lacy said. “It was a very different mindset, though, going into the piece, because this one was three minutes longer than the first one. There was definitely a different strategy with this one, because I couldn’t just go as fast as I could in the first minute and die off. I had to be smart about how fast I was going to go.”
Lacy said her coach Hadzo Habibovic was just as supportive as when she broke her first record.
“My coach was like, ‘well, are there any more you want to break?’” Lacy said. “He was super excited, and he was nice about letting me do it before practice, and encouraged me through the piece, as well. In rowing, we call that ‘coxing’ someone through a piece.”
Grace Keen, strategic communications/graphic design sophomore, said she, along with the rest of the rowing team, was excited for Lacy.
“Everyone has a bit more respect for her,” Keen said. “We’ve all been like ‘dang, that’s really impressive.’ I even called my whole family about it. We have a joke now that if you’re ever late to practice, you have to break a world record, or we won’t excuse it.”
Keen said Lacy is a great teammate.
“Ruthie is my best friend,” Keen said. “I’m so happy she joined the team. She just makes it a super fun environment.”
Lacy said she hopes to grow even more as an athlete over the semester, and ultimately compete at the 2021 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship.
“I would love to just work hard and win our nationals with Grace,” Lacy said.
Keen said she wants to make it to nationals with Lacy and compete together.
“I want to break eight minutes on the 2k,” Keen said. “It’s kind of our big test. It’s what we race at preliminary nationals and nationals. So, yeah, I want to win, but I really just want to make it and go with Ruthie.”
Keen said she values her friendships with Lacy and other teammates.
“I really like OCU’s rowing team because it’s such a close-knit family,” Keen said. “Just being on the team, I have so many super close friends that I can count on for anything. They’re kind of the only people I see and hang out with, because we’re so close and have so much in common.”
Students interested in joining OCU Rowing can contact Hadzo Habibovic, head rowing coach, at hhabibovic@okcu.edu.
For more on the rowing team, readers can visit @okcu.rowing on Instagram, and the OCUSports website.
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