OKLAHOMA CITY – Edgars Boitmanis followed the most recent U.S. presidential election from his native country of Latvia with an eye towards making his way to the United States someday.

Through his rowing skills, Boitmanis made his dream reality and joined the Oklahoma City University rowing team.

Boitmanis, a freshman from Jurmala, Latvia, will make his Stars debut this weekend in the Boot of the Oklahoma Regatta. He is slated to race in the single, double, quad and eight events for OCU.

Boitmanis' selling point when contacting college coaches came from competing in the 2008 World Junior Championships and aiding Latvia to a sixth-place finish in the men's quad. He also helped Latvia to a seventh-place finish in the quad in the World Under-23 Championships last summer in Racice, Czech Republic. Boitmanis' mother, Irina, is a kayaking coach.

“He is the most consistently hard working guy on the team,” OCU assistant rowing coach Linas Smailys said. “He really wanted to come here.”

Boitmanis has been timed at 6 minutes, 26 seconds on a rowing machine in the 2,000 meters. Rowers who compete internationally can reach 6:00, while outstanding collegiate rowers hit 6:20.

“We rowed only two months together,” Boitmanis said of his team's performance this summer. “It was a great achievement. I plan to get back to Latvia. We are looking forward to next year and improving.”

Boitmanis heard of the Head of the Oklahoma Regatta night races and its crowds of 50,000 spectators. OCU broke ground on the $10 million Devon Boathouse on the Oklahoma River this summer. This year's OCU regatta has been named the Boot of the Oklahoma because it will take place down the river due to the construction.
The Boot of the Oklahoma will originate from the Exchange Boathouse, 1391 Exchange Avenue. This year's races will be on a 4,000-meter course.

Boitmanis' partner in the double will be Jimmy von Peters, who last year won the American Collegiate Rowing Association championship in the single.

“I'm nervous, but excited,” Boitmanis said. “I heard they were building a lot on the river. They are building a big center for USRowing. I heard about the night races. That was really amazing. I heard it was a big event here. I'm looking forward to it since it's my first time to race in the United States. I've never participated in four events in the same competition.”

Part of Boitmanis' inspiration to seek an education in the United States came from a couple of women rowers from Latvia who row for Southern California.

In checking out stateside rowing programs, Boitmanis found that OCU has the only varsity sculling team in the United States.

“It sounded so cool to study here on scholarship,” Boitmanis said. “I've been amazed by how friendly the people are. I think the coaches are great, and I'm going to learn a lot from them. I think I'm going to make progress while I'm here.”

Boitmanis learned his English watching CNN, the only English-speaking television channel he could watch in Latvia. Seeing the television coverage of the election sparked Boitmanis' interest in politics. Boitmanis will pursue a degree in political science and would like to pick President Obama's brain.

“I liked his speeches,” Boitmanis said of Barack Obama. “He seems like he inspires with his ideas and his background. Back home I knew I had to have good English and academics.”

Once he has completed his studies at OCU, Boitmanis has the goal of returning to Latvia to be an agent of change. Latvia is one of the poorest countries in the European Union.