1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
When I was eight years old I was a Mighty Might downhill skier. I remember one Saturday I standing in the middle of a blizzard waiting for my bib # to be called. I needed a helmet so my father borrowed one from my coach, many sizes too big we stuffed it with paper towels. My hands were freezing because the mittens I wore were my mothers hand me downs and the fleece was worn. My poles were too short. I started, hit a rut, missed my pole plant, and couldn't feel my fingers and my helmet slipped over my eyes. I was miserable. Even back then I knew I needed a sport in warmer climates.
Eighteen years later I walked down to the local marina and started rowing. I just decided it was time to start something new, something challenging.
2. Was there a practice, race or other event when you fell in love with the sport, or when you knew you might not be too bad at rowing? When you thought you could make the national team?
The first time I raced in a real regatta I won. I was hooked and I even thought I was pretty good. I wasn't of course, but that did not get in the way of my tenacious appetite for rowing.
I sought out coaching from Holly Brunkow a former National Team member. She was tough, brutal even about my skills but she also taught me respect for the National Team and certainly about NT Testing. That was back in the day when a 2k was pulled 30 min after a 500 and then of course the bench pulls. She timed everything down to the second. I figured if I could survive under her direction then perhaps I had a chance at the National Team.
So many coaches have told me I would not make it, to retire before I even got started. Little did they know how much work I was willing to do, I knew I would make the National Team. Ten years ago I made my first team, as an alternate ,but it was a stepping-stone.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
My best race was an erg piece. It was in 1999 and I was getting set to do a 2k for NT testing. Earlier in the week KGW TV had contacted me for an interview. So I invited them to watch the 2k piece. Nick Haley, coach for ORU and Lincoln Laroe, my training partner were also present yelling encouraging words. When Nick asked me how fast I was going to go I said 6:59. At the end of the piece I asked the cameraman to take a shot of the monitor and then send me a still print. I had to have the proof to show Hartmut . It read 6:59.6. Of course I was ecstatic that I had just set a World record but more importantly it was a turning point in how I viewed competition. No longer was I looking at whom I had to beat but what I had to do to win. What responsibility did I as an athlete have to take in order to perform.
My worst race was 2004 NSR2 when my doubles partner at the time and I lost the first opportunity to make the Olympic Team. The reason why it was the worst was because I felt there was nothing more I could have done and it wasn't enough. It was the emotional disappointment of having to deal with a life long goal not being reached. Even worse, was sharing the news with my friends and family.
BUT, on the positive side, I was given the opportunity to stay focused, to train as though I was an Olympian even though I did not know if I would be going. To keep that same tenacious appetite for rowing I had when I first began.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
When I first began rowing I flipped an orange Julian race trainer in the first month I began rowing. I'm pretty sure that it was every time I went for a row and in the first month it was most every day. I'm sure the problem was in the rigging, or more accurately that I used my arms to propel the boat, a problem that has not completely disappeared. Even today I am not convinced that I could row that hull. In my mind it is less stable than a K-1. (Racing Kayak)
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
No matter what you do in life make sure you are having fun. It's an amazing thing to have your dreams come true. Believe in yourself and enjoy the process of work towards your goals.
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