1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I was a pretty serious distance runner at Santa Rosa High School, and dreamed of running at a big-name college, although I was aware that probably wasn't likely. At UCLA my freshman year, I went to a rowing practice cause my sister said she thought I'd be good at rowing. They had all the novices do some kind of relay on the erg. I won, and was crowned "king of the erg", complete with a Burger King crown. I still have it somewhere.
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 transferred to Stanford and we went to Head of the Charles my junior year in a coxed four. Exceeding all our expectations, we beat the two US national team entries and won. It felt incredible. Me and my teammates just couldn't stop smiling for hours. That was the first time I realized I could maybe row at a higher level than college.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
Winning trials with Tom Peszek might top the list for best race. It's been a rough road for the past three years, and we have put up with a lot. Getting cut, getting injured, sleeping on floors, moving 5 times, having limited international success on the men's side. To earn our spot on the team, objectively, was immensely satisfying.
On the other side of the spectrum, before the IRA championships my junior year we had a particularly frustrating practice. We'd just gotten smashed at PAC-10 championships by 8 seconds, I was fed up with rowing and didn't see the point of flying across the country just to get smashed again. I told one of my teammates that I was quitting, and he spent hours talking me out of it. I decided to stick it out, mostly because I owed it to the seniors. Long story short, we ended up getting silver, and I ended up stroking the U23 8+ that summer.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
The bumps races at Cambridge are unquestionably the most fun and exciting rowing in the world. Its basically intramural rowing at Cambridge but people take it very seriously. They line up 17 boats all along the river, with about a length of open water in between them. They start the race with a cannon, and everybody tries to smash their bow into the boat in front of them before getting "bumped" by the boat behind them. It's complete madness, spread out over four days. The hierarchy is carried over every year, and it takes something like 30 years to move from the bottom division to the top position. After representing Cambridge in the Cambridge-Oxford boat race, I represented my own "college", Caius, in the bumps. We bumped up two places over the regatta, and narrowly missed the "headship" (top position). It was a really fun time.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
I usually joke that young rowers should quit before they get inextricably sucked into rowing. In reality, it has been a challenging but extremely rewarding journey. For advice, I say that the best way to go fast is to have crushing power, impeccable technique, and high morale.
Hometown: Santa Rosa, Calif.
Current Residence: Santa Rosa, Calif.
Began Rowing: University of California at Los Angeles, 2004
Date of Birth: 4/27/86
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 200
High School: Santa Rosa High School
Undergraduate Education: Stanford University, 2008
Graduate Education: Cambridge University, MPhil, 2009
Current Coaches: Bryan Volpenhein
Years on National Team: Four – 2007-08, Under 23; 2010, 2012, Senior
International Results: Finished fifth in the four at the 2010 World Rowing Championships...Won gold in the eight at the 2008 World Rowing Under 23 Championships…Placed fourth in the eight at the 2007 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
National Results: Won the pair at the 2012 Olympic Trials - Rowing...Won the pair at the 2011 National Selection Regatta #1...Finished second in the pair at the 2010 National Selection Regatta #3…Finished fifth in the pair at the 2010 National Selection Regatta #2… Tied for second in the varsity eight at the 2007 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships...Won gold in the championship four at the 2006 Head of the Charles...Took silver in the men’s varsity eight at the 2006 PAC-10 Conference Championships...Won the Copley Cup at the 2006 San Diego Crew Classic.
Personal: Silas likes to write songs, cycle and backpack in his spare time…Before every race, Silas eats granola and Gu…He wears his power-speed socks for important races…Racing at the Head of the Charles in 2006, running a 4:26-minute mile in high school and winning a silver medal at the IRA National Championships are among his most memorable sporting achievements…Silas chose rowing because as he went through puberty, he got slower at running and needed to find something more competitive, so his sister suggested rowing…He lists his high school track coach and his brother as the most influential people in his athletic career because they showed Silas the value of hard work…While rowing at Cambridge, Stafford was referred to at the time by the British Press as "The Boy with the Golden Ticket." His crew emerged victorious (despite a clash that greatly effected his crew) during the Trial VIIIs racing that took place during the Autumn of 2008, and he stroked the CUBC Blue Boat for the 2009 Boat Race...He hopes to win an Olympic gold medal someday and win as many important races as possible until then
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