Fast Track to Success for Elizabeth Gilmore

It was just four years ago that Elizabeth Gilmore picked up the handle of an indoor rowing machine to aid her rehabilitation from injury. Four years later, she has accumulated accolades and records both on the Concept2 RowErg and on the water.  

Elizabeth is a late arrival to rowing. Now in her early 40s, and a busy mother to four boys, she came to rowing from a running background. A fractured tibia, however, forced her to change sports. It was 2021 and indoor rowing virtual events were booming during lockdown. Elizabeth took part in the Concept2 Holiday Challenge and never looked back, nearly tripling her original 100km goal.  

Her name now dominates the RowErg World Records for the 40-49-year-old age category. She owns seven of the 13 events, and they span the range from the four-minute sprint (1210m) through to the marathon (2:43:42). She also has the 100,000m record (6:59:25) and the 10000m record on slides (36:51).  

Elizabeth’s most recent record is the 24-hour mixed tandem record. With Cameron Wharram, the two of them chalked up 366,335 metres with a 500m split of 1:57.9.

Cameron and Elizabeth started training for this record in November last year at the end of Elizabeth’s on-water rowing season. Training involved a lot of steady state pieces on the Erg and increasing the mileage as the weeks went on.

“I tried to increase by no more than five per cent per week and occasionally I’d back off for a week,” says Elizabeth who focused on a lot of 90-minute sessions, fitting them in at 5am and another at lunch time. There were also weight sessions.  

“For the 24-hour record we started the piece with 15-minute shifts and as we went through, we did shorter and shorter shifts–15, 12, 10, 7.5, 6, 5, 3 and at the end 1 minute. To transition we’d count down strokes, the other person would hold the foot-straps and keep the flywheel going.”  

The rules for the tandem record is that the flywheel can never stop moving and one person must do at least 40 per cent.

During their record attempt, the aim was for Elizabeth to hold 2:02 to 2:03 splits, while Cameron would hold 1:54. This worked for the first part but by the 19 hour mark, the pace started to slow. Despite extreme fatigue, they hung in and with 12 minutes to go they broke the record.  

Elizabeth is an avid competitor and holds records for indoor rowing competitions both virtually and in-person. In 2023 she competed and won the inaugural World Rowing Versa Challenge.  

“I was attracted to this event because it was different, I didn’t know what to expect. There’s a selection process to get into the Versa and it was a lot of fun trying out different things.”

This event, held over two days at the World Rowing Indoor Championship, required the competitors to complete five different indoor rowing challenges. Those involved only found out what the events were a short time before the competition. The variety of challenging distances (both sprint and endurance distances) suited Elizabeth, and she returned in 2024 and again won the Versa. 

“I’m quite broad. Sprinting can be fun, but I do the longer (distances) as well. I kind of like it all.”  

At this year’s World Rowing Indoor Championships, Elizabeth won the 40-44 women’s age group for 2000m, just outside the record in a time of 6:46. 4.  

All these accomplishments have been in parallel with Elizabeth’s on-water efforts. After initially doing a learn to row course, Elizabeth was recruited by Capital Rowing Club in Washington DC.  

It is a 40-minute drive to the club which Elizabeth does at 4:30 a.m. to get to morning training on time. She rows with experienced on-water rowers and knows that she cannot rely on physical strength to make the boat move. Her erg scores are up there but she knows there is a lot to learn.  

“It’s harder on the water. There’s a lot more to think about. A lot more in terms of setting the boat and sequencing. But it’s a lot of fun trying to master it. On the Erg it’s easier to muscle through.”  

She now rows on slides to help with her on-water technique. “I feel I can get a better leg drive. I was struggling to work this out and lock it into my head.”  

The on-water season may be just around the corner, but Elizabeth will keep an eye out for any online competitions.

You can view all of Elizabeth’s records on the Records page of our website. If you want to start comparing your own times and seeing how you stack up with the rest of the world, then go to our Online Logbook and Rankings.