All college athletes take on inherent risks when competing, but athletics are not typically seen as life threatening, at least in the moment of competition.

The college rowing community had to face the reality of that uncommon situation a few weeks ago, however, when Mohammed Ramzan, a men’s rower at Northwestern, fell out of his boat during a morning practice and drowned.

Ramzan, a freshman, was practicing with his team around 7:30 a.m. on April 10 when he went overboard. A teammate and coach jumped in to save him, but they could not locate Ramzan.

The University of Iowa, which has a women’s rowing team but no men’s team, hasn’t dealt with a rower going overboard and drowning. Even so, Iowa head coach Andrew Carter said, they have to be careful every time they get into a boat.

“Like most sports, and certainly those around water, rowing carries a level of inherent risk,” Carter said in a statement sent to The Daily Iowan on April 21. “Here at Iowa, we do all we can to position our students for the safest possible experience. As an Athletics Department and rowing program, we provide the highest level of supervision possible from highly qualified athletics professionals. In addition, there are extensive safety equipment and procedures in place, both on the water and on shore, that not only minimize water-sport risks but enable effective and efficient responses to potential incidents.”

Carter went on to give his support to the Northwestern program.

“With all safety measures in place and best practices being used, there is unfortunately no guarantee that safety issues will never arise and we all share in the loss when tragedy occurs,” he said.

— by Blake Dowson