How a Ukrainian World Championship Athlete Returned to the Sport and Is Now Taking On Elite-Level Competition

Seven finals in one week leave little room to ease back into competition. For Vladyslav Avramenko, that, he recalls, was his workload at the 2025 USRowing RowFest National Championships, part of a first season back that stretched from regional races to national competition. After several years away, racing gave him something training alone could not: a clearer picture of where he stood.

Avramenko is a professional athlete, a former member of Ukraine’s national rowing team and a competitor at the U19 and U23 World Championships. He has also developed his own athlete training methodology. He moved to the United States in 2022. Settling into a new country and finding work took priority. He never considered the break a retirement, but serious preparation had to wait until his life was more stable.

“I knew I hadn’t fully realized my potential as an athlete,” he says. “I was hungry to compete again, to train, get to the start line and fight for a result.”

Finding his race again

His return in 2025 began in Florida, first at Miami Rowing Club and then at Hollywood Rowing Club. The first competitive test came at the Southeast Masters Championships in South Carolina. His time back on the water had been short, and he was unsure how much fitness he had recovered.

There was another adjustment. During his later years with Ukraine’s national team, he had mainly raced in a coxless four. Now he was in a single scull, responsible for every stroke and every decision.

Experience helped bridge the gap. He knew how to pace a race and use the fitness available to him, rather than spend it too early. He recalls winning that first race.

“After the break, I had to rebuild my fitness, but my knowledge and understanding of rowing were still there,” he says.

RowFest in Ypsilanti, Michigan, brought a much heavier program: lightweight singles over 2,000 and 1,000 meters, a 500-meter night sprint, Masters racing and an eight. Across the week, he contested seven finals, alongside preliminary rounds in some events. He won the Men’s Masters Lightweight A Single, finishing in 3:46.250, 3.58 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“I wanted to win, and I worked toward it,” he says. “But when it happened, the emotions were still very strong. After a break, a victory like that is especially valuable.”

Lessons between races

His 2025 schedule took him to Sarasota for Benderson Chase and to Philadelphia for Head of the Schuylkill. At Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, he placed third in both the championship double sculls and the lightweight single.

The double was a close contest. Racing with S. Budko in a Hollywood Rowing Club–Orlando Rowing Club composite, he finished in 15:27.930, just 1.852 seconds behind the second-place crew. That gap mattered to him: he could challenge experienced opponents, rather than simply share a racecourse with them.

The single exposed a different problem. The double had been late in the day; the single followed early the next morning. He finished third again but had expected more from himself. He felt the short recovery window had affected his performance.

“That race made me pay much closer attention to my race schedule and to how entering several events affects my readiness for each one,” he says.

For returning athletes, his experience offers a useful distinction. Frequent racing can restore confidence and reveal weaknesses, but each entry also adds fatigue. A full schedule is only useful if the athlete is able to handle it.

Between regattas, Avramenko alternated demanding sessions with easier work that allowed him to focus on technique. Closer to a race, the emphasis shifted toward quality and freshness. He acknowledges that the balance was not always right; the season helped him make more informed choices about the next start.

A different test on the Charles

The Men’s Championship Single at Head Of The Charles occupies an important place in that progression toward stronger competition. The Boston regatta’s approximately three-mile upstream course winds through bends and bridges. Speed depends partly on steering an efficient line and making sound decisions while fatigued.

Avramenko’s preparation for the course has included studying its map, turns and bridge approaches, then practicing changes of direction without surrendering speed. Longer efforts, intervals and accelerations under fatigue address another demand: having enough in reserve to pass a rival and settle back into race rhythm.

“For me, it’s important to connect physical readiness with technical execution,” he says. “On a course like that, you have to stay focused and control the boat when you’re working at your limit.”

He sees the Championship Single as a measure of his progress against world-class opposition. His ambition is to fight for the highest places. He also recognizes the advantage held by athletes who have raced the course before and know where seconds can be gained or lost.

His goal now is to improve his results in international competition. The first season back restored his confidence and taught him to plan his race program more carefully, including the recovery time between events.

“I value what I’ve achieved, but I know there is still a long way ahead,” Avramenko says. “My main goal is to become the best among the strongest.” 

Expert: Vladyslav Avramenko, professional athlete, former member of Ukraine’s national rowing team, competitor at the U19 and U23 Rowing World Championships, creator of his own athlete training methodology.