World champion rower balancing engineering studies and sport
'It’s all about time management and making smart decisions. It took about a year and a half really for me to figure out how to balance everything together,' says Karl Zimmerman, second from right. The McMaster biochemical engineering student recently captured a world championship in Bulgaria on Canada’s U23 heavy men’s quad team.
While many students break out of their shells in university, Karl Zimmermann has spent his time breaking world records.
Before coming to McMaster in 2012, the fourth-year biochemical engineering student had never touched a rowing oar.
Inspired by Canada winning silver in men’s eight rowing at the London Olympics, Zimmermann decided to give it a shot.
Three years later, he would go on to win a world championship in Bulgaria on Canada’s U23 heavy men’s quad team this past July (pictured above).
“Time after time you think, oh yeah I did that, that’s pretty cool,” says Zimmerman, 20, who is a member of McMaster’s rowing team.
Winning gold during his first year of an international team was no easy feat. It was a careful balancing act between the demands of an engineering degree and being a competitive rower, Zimmerman says.
“It’s all about time management and making smart decisions. It took about a year and a half really for me to figure out how to balance everything together,” says Zimmerman. “In the beginning you kind of find out through trial and error. What I really figured out was how to maximize my time on campus.”
Waking up every day at 4 a.m., Zimmerman has his day timed to the minute. Seven minutes to eat breakfast. Fourteen minutes to the Leander Boat Club where he trains. Time between classes is spent going to the gym or completing homework. It’s the only way to balance 30 hours of class time with hours of training.
Professors understand if he occasionally nods off in class.
“The number of times I’ve gone up to a professor after class and said I’m sorry I fell asleep. I was up until 11 p.m. and up at 4 a.m. They all start laughing because they know I’m a rower,” says Zimmermann.
He also needs to find time to eat — a lot. During training season, Zimmerman consumes a jaw-dropping 7,000 calories a day — more than two times the amount needed by an average male.
When weighing the physical, financial, and time commitment, it’s clear Zimmermann has a lot on his plate.
“I think I’ve done better in engineering as I’ve had rowing take up so much of my time, it makes you stay so focused, it makes you finish your homework on time so you can train,” he says. “It keeps a check on what you are doing and helps with time management.”
