1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
When I was a sophomore in high school in Cincinnati, I wanted to try rowing, out of curiosity. Before I could even attend a practice, the coach had to be informed of my height and weight. I guess I was big enough, because I was allowed to come the next day. The Cincinnati Junior rowing team consisted of 5 girls that winter. It was February, and we had a couple months of erg training before getting on the water.
I remember the day I had to take my first erg test. I watched the veteran high school girls roll off the ergs in pain and convulsions. I was terrified - what had I gotten myself into to? Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. I had no concept of a good or bad 2500m score, but the coach was impressed. Once we got on the water, I rode in the launch for a couple weeks. The first day he swithced me into the boat, I was hooked. It was so much more fun than erging.
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?
I really thought I could make the senior national team in the summer of 1997. I was rowing at PennAC in the women's 8+ put together by Ted Nash to challenge the US camp boat. This was a historic event. Our line up was made up of "rejects" of the camp system - each of us was too short, too old, too slow on the erg, or had just failed to get the attention of national team coaches.
We traveled to the ARCO Olympic Training Center to race the [best 2 out of 3] trials sequence against the women I idolized. In the first race, we finished 1.1 seconds behind the camp boat. Now we at least knew our speed was legitimate. We regrouped, switched strokes, and fully believed we could win the next race. But after battling it out all the way down, we came up .3 seconds short. All of a sudden I knew my national team aspirations for that year were over. But it gave me confidence for my future in rowing.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
Training in Augusta, Georgia with Igor Grinko provided the worst, most dreaded practice. It was called a dam row. Twice a week all the scullers would shove their singles off the dock for a 3 hour journey to the dam of the Savannah River, and back. It pushed us well past the point of bonking, and we had to carry multiple water bottles and snacks to survive.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I had my best race in the 1999 Pacific Rim International Regatta. It was the test regatta a couple weeks after the 1999 Worlds, on the upcoming Sydney Olympic course. Hilary Gehman and I were put in a 2x together, after having rowed the 4x for months and at Worlds. We were unsure of our speed, and felt a bit awkward in the smaller boat. But we advanced to the A final. We found ourselves sitting at the starting line with many of the fastest 2x crews from the recent Worlds. But the boat we really had our eye on was the Russian women, who had just edged us out of medal contention in the 4x two weeks earlier. To our surprise, we were ahead of the pack, and even with the Russians the entire race. Our bow balls traded places back and forth each stroke. Hilary called a great race, and we could hear the US coaches cheering from shore, probably in disbelief. But, as we crossed the finish line, our Russian rivals just barely got us. Ever since that race, Hil and I have used the call "Russia," to inspire each other in pieces.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Enjoy it! Rowing is 90% mental. Whatever your mind decides your body can do, it will. This can be a great platform for realizing the potential of your body.
... and persistence does pay off.
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