Local personal trainer sets sights on indoor rowing championship

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Nicholas Thomas, a personal trainer and the owner of Prime Performance Training in Athens, always wanted to be involved in something fitness related.

In addition to all of the work he does helping others achieve their fitness goals, Thomas trains to be among the best rowers in the world.

“I loved the concept of the rowing machine. It was a piece of equipment that I bought for the studio about three years ago, and I knew rowing was a great sport and was good for the body because it works like 95 percent of the muscles in your body,” Thomas said.

Thomas placed second and received a silver medal in the America’s Continental Championship Feb. 6 and became the only American to ever place in the top 10 worldwide in the open class 500-meter sprint in the World Championship final.

“That is a huge deal for me,” Thomas said. “The 500-meter open sprint is the top class in the world. To be able to say that I’m the only American that ever placed in the top 10 in that division is quite remarkable.”

The World Indoor Rowing Championships were historically held at different venues around the world, but in 2021, it was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic thanks to Time Team, which is the company that handles everything electronically. They were able to electronically link to all of the machines so athletes could race from abroad virtually.

“It was one of these things that I got into and come to find out it was a huge sport worldwide that had a lot of notoriety and a lot of competition,” Thomas said. “I started training for various distances and I started competing.”

Not only was Thomas competing, he was becoming a successful competitor personally and professionally.

“I went in to the America’s Continental Championship with the goal to win the gold medal,” he said. “I was in first in the 500-meter sprint all the way to 450-meters, and I had a Canadian by the name of Chris Glasgow pass me in the last 50-meters for the Gold medal.”

While the dream of winning a gold medal is still on the forefront of Thomas mind, one aspect of that has already been accomplished.

“I have had dreams ever since I started this of wanting to compete in a world championship,” he said. “I worked extremely hard and made that vision come true by competing in the world championships on Feb. 24 as a rookie and finishing in the top 10.”

But the rowing journey has just begun for Thomas and his hopes continue to remain high.

“I look forward to better things in this next season,” he said. “2021 sets the stage for a lot of traveling around the world and that will be a good experience to get out and ultimately win as many championships in the U.S. as I can. I want to qualify for world’s again and win the Gold Medal. “But first I’ve got to take care of business in the North American Continental Championships by winning gold here. Those are my goals and I’ll continue to work hard for them.”