Read Robin's original row2k Starting Five questions here!
1. How have you prepared differently for this quadrennial than previous cycles?
I graduated from college in 2011, so joining the national team and attempting to make the Olympic team for 2012 was an easy choice. I was fortunate to make the boat in 2012 but we had yet to qualify. The last chance Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne was an experience unlike anything else and was both extremely stressful and exciting once we had qualified. Deciding on whether or not to continue training in 2013 was a difficult decision. Giving up four more years of my life for a goal that you statistically have little chance of achieving is a difficult one to make. Once that decision was made you plan and focus for a goal four years away. I think that was the main difference in preparation for me. For London, my preparation in rowing happened to meet with luck and opportunity. For Rio, it has been a four year plan preparing just for this.
2. Did anything completely unexpected happen, or do you have any memorable or unusual stories from your previous Olympiad?
Nothing too out of the ordinary happened during London but something out of a tall tale that you hear master rowers tell happened during the qualification regatta. Two days before our heat, a crazy storm came by and our rack fell over and split our boat in half. In retrospect the four of us kept pretty cool about it, thinking we could just get another boat. It was good to keep cool but it wasn't so easy to get a new boat. Our coach Bryan Volpenhein had to go around looking for an unused Empacher lwt 4- . Luckily, the Australian women had a similar shell and gladly lent it to us for the regatta. I think it helped us row better.
3. Any/Most important advice for first time Olympians?
Enjoy it. Its an exciting time and you will perform best if you enjoy the rowing. Have fun with all the flair but not if it distracts you from your goal.
4. What was your state of mind like sitting in the starting block of your first Olympic race?
I think I was too calm. Because we stayed outside the Olympic village in London, the whole regatta kind of seemed like just another race. It got better as we went on but I've always thought that I should have absorbed the atmosphere a little better and used it to my advantage.
5. What's different this time around/what will you do differently at this Olympics?
In terms of execution, I think we did a pretty good job the first time around. This time I think the team as a whole is more professional and will carve out all details more precisely. Other than that, I would like to enjoy the racing atmosphere a little more and absorb the experience as much as possible.
6. Do you feel older/better/wiser/stronger/other?
All of the above. Definitely older haha! I don't think any rower peaks at 23 or even at 27 and as long as your fitness does not diminish because of over-training or injury, I think the additional four years of the process will make you a better athlete. As you get older you have to do a lot of work to prevent injuries and that attention to detail really pays off in other aspects of your life.
7. Does the phrase "the Olympics" ring differently the next time around?
Yes. when you dedicate yourself completely to something for four additional years, it carries extra weight. It carries weight because you know of other athletes who worked just as hard as you did and didn't make it. It carries weight because under different circumstances or minor events like overlooking an injury, you could potentially not have made it. It also carries weight when you have been doing an activity for most of your life and this is the last time that you'll perform it competitively. It puts in perspective how difficult it was to get here and how quickly time will pass and make it go away.
8. As far as regattas go, comparing the Olympics to different races (Worlds, Lucerne), is it a better or different regatta, or just higher stakes?
There's nothing physically different about the regatta itself. Mentally, you have a lot of things going on, distractions. Don't get me wrong, there are obviously higher stakes, from how difficult it was to get here to how the opportunity only comes around every four years, but at the end of the day you have to avoid all that and do whatever works for you to PR on your 2k.
DATE OF BIRTH: 12/13/88
HEIGHT: 6'1”
WEIGHT: 155
BEGAN ROWING: 2001, American Barge Club
HOMETOWN: Miami, Fla.
BIRTHPLACE: Matanzas, Cuba
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Oklahoma City, Okla.
HIGH SCHOOL: Miami Coral Park Senior High School, 2007
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: Princeton University, 2011
TRAINING LOCATION: Princeton, N.J.
CURRENT COACH: Cameron Kiosoglous
CLUB AFFILIATIONS: USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City
National Teams: SENIOR: 2011-2016, Pan-Am 2015, UNDER 23: 2008, 2010, JUNIOR: 2006
International Results: 2016 WORLD ROWING CUP I, Third, lightweight four, 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Fifth, lightweight pair, PAN AMERICAN GAMES, Second, lightweight four, 2014 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Tenth, lightweight four, 2013 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Fifth, lightweight four, WORLD ROWING CUP III, Seventh, lightweight four, 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES, Eighth, lightweight four, FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION REGATTA, First, lightweight four, 2011 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Thirteenth, lightweight four, 2010 WORLD ROWING UNDER 23 CHAMPIONSHIPS, Third, lightweight four, 2009 HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA, First, Temple Challenge Cup, 2008 WORLD ROWING UNDER 23 CHAMPIONSHIPS, Fourteenth, lightweight double sculls, 2006 WORLD ROWING JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, Thirteenth, single sculls, 2005 SOUTH AMERICAN SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP, Second, A single sculls, SOUTH AMERICAN SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP, Second, B single sculls,
National Results: Finished first in the lightweight pair at the 2016 National Selection Regatta 1…Won the four at the 2015 USRowing NationalChampionships...Won the lightweight pair at the 2015 Senior I World Championship Trials...Won the lightweight four at the 2015 Pan American Games Trials...Finished third in the lightweight pair at the 2015 National Selection Regatta I…Won the lightweight pair at the 2013 National Selection Regatta 2...Won the lightweight eight at the 2011 Head of the Charles Regatta...Finished fifth in the lightweight varsity eight at the 2011 IRA Championships...Finished fourth in the lightweight varsity eight at the 2011 Eastern Sprints...Won the lightweight varsity eight at the 2010 IRA Championships...Won the lightweight varsity eight at the 2010 Eastern Sprints Regatta...Won the lightweight varsity eight at the 2009 IRA Championships...Won the lightweight varsity eight at the 2009 Eastern Sprints Regatta...Won the lightweight double sculls at the 2008 USRowing Under 23 World Championships Trials…Finished sixth in the freshman lightweight eight at the 2008 Eastern Sprints…Won the single sculls at the 2006 Junior World Championship Trials…Won the junior double sculls, finished second in the junior single sculls and finished third in the junior quadruple sculls at the 2005 USRowing National Championships…Finished second in the quadruple sculls at the 2005 USRowing Youth Invitational.
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