That's how masters (old timers) rowing seems to work. You just wait for whoever is faster to die of old age and if you die first it's not your problem anymore.

Start early.

Benchmark with the leaders.

Be prepared to work as hard as them, and actually do it for enough years to make a difference.

Outlive them. This is what you were planning to do when you started early.

For a pursuit where skill building is a function of effort over a lifetime.

In sports I guess that would be your athletic lifetime.

Gail Roper,swimming:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Peters

(I've had the privilege of being beat by someone decades my senior.)