1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I was a really outdoorsy kid and I loved being around water, but I wasn’t into organized sports at all. And by “wasn’t into” them, I mean that when I ran track in 8th grade, I chose the 100m because it would be over the soonest. Growing up, the Congrams were good family friends of ours, and when Buzz (the longtime Northeastern men’s coach) put together a small learn-to-row program in my town, he encouraged me to come try it. I was a chubby high school freshman when I showed up to my first practice, but I gave it a shot and loved it. In the first couple of practices, I kept stepping into the bottom of the hull when I got in the boat and Buzz would tell me to quit it before my foot went straight through.
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 fell in love with the sport in high school. I rowed for CRI in Boston and we had a team with a great dynamic that wanted to go fast. It was a competitive but supportive environment and we were all really good friends, which made us want to work hard for each other. Plus I figured out that in rowing, there’s a fairly direct correlation between how hard you worked and the results you got, and I liked that.
My first Under-23 camp was when I thought I had a chance at making the senior team. I came into the camp with the goal of simply learning how to scull, and finished it with a seat at in the light double at U-23 Worlds. It was crazy, and completely unexpected!
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
It’s tough to narrow it down to one specific practice or race. Some of my best practices have been in Switzerland, where Julie and I have trained in between World Cups for the past two summers. There were days when we were deep in the pain cave, killing ourselves to go fast even when we were the only boat on the lake, or when it was just us trying to beat Ken (the M1x). Days like that, when we were feeling the boat really well and figuring out how to squeeze a little more speed out of it, were the best. It doesn’t hurt that it’s picture perfect there, too: glassy flat water, huge snow-capped mountains on all sides, and cowbells in the distance.
Least favorite practices have to be ones in early spring in Wisconsin, when the lake had just melted. Sometimes we’d have to wade into the water to launch and it was ridiculously cold. Then ice would build up in your tracks once you started rowing. You couldn’t focus on practice because you were just too frozen. I remember thinking at the time that those practices were surely taking years off my life, but looking back, it bonded us together as a team and made us tougher.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I was once coxed by Bucky Badger. When I was rowing for the Wisconsin Lightweights and we swept Eastern Sprints in 2008, he came to practice in Madison as part of a celebration. I was stroking the 8 he was in and he kept tickling my hands at the catch. And then he’d play around by rocking his big heavy head back and forth, which sent the boat crashing from side to side. He didn’t say anything (never does), so our real cox’n was making calls from the launch.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Even if you don’t think you’re a great athlete to begin with, you can be with the right mindset and determination. No athlete reaches the Olympics by magic; a lot of it is that they’re students of their sport, are motivated to figure out how to be most efficient, and are willing to put in a ton of hours to get faster. And you have to love it to put in all the hours.
Club Affiliation: California Rowing Club
Began Rowing: Community Rowing, Inc., 2000
Date of Birth: 5/14/86
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 123
High School: Concord-Carlisle High School, 2004
Undergraduate Education: University of Wisconsin, Business Management, 2008
Current Coaches: Erik Miller, Dave O'Neill
Years on National Team: Six – 2007-08, Under 23; 2009-12, Senior
International Results: Finished fourth in the lightweight double sculls at the 2012 Samsung World Cup Rowing II...Finished sixth in the lightweight double sculls at the 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup I...Finished fourth in the lightweight double sculls at the 2011 World Rowing Championships...Won the 2011 Overall Rowing World Cup in the lightweight double sculls…Took bronze in the lightweight double sculls at the 2011 Rowing World Cup stop in Lucerne...Won the lightweight double sculls at the 2011 Rowing World Cup stop in Hamburg...Took bronze in the lightweight double sculls at the 2011 Rowing World Cup stop in Munich...Took silver in the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2010 World Rowing Championships...Finished 11th in the lightweight double sculls at the 2009 World Rowing Championships…Finished seventh in the lightweight double sculls at the 2009 Rowing World Cup stop in Lucerne…Finished 12th in the lightweight double sculls at the 2008 World Rowing Under 23 Championships…Finished 16th in the lightweight double sculls at the 2007 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
National Results: Won the lightweight double sculls at the 2012 National Selection Regatta #2...Won the lightweight single at the 2011 Head of the Charles Regatta...Won the lightweight double sculls at the 2011 National Selection Regatta #2...Finished second in the lightweight single sculls at the 2011 National Selection Regatta #1...Won the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2010 World Rowing Championship Trials…Won gold in the lightweight single sculls and lightweight double sculls at the 2010 USRowing National Championships…Finished third in the lightweight double sculls at the 2010 National Selection Regatta #2…Won the lightweight single sculls at the 2009 Head of the Charles…Won gold in the lightweight double sculls and lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2009 USRowing National Championships…Finished second in the lightweight double sculls at the 2009 National Selection Regatta #2…Won the lightweight double sculls at the 2009 National Selection Regatta #1…Won gold in the lightweight eight at the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Eastern Sprints...Won gold in the lightweight eight at the 2006 and 2008 IRA Championships.
Personal: Kristin enjoys being outside and chose rowing because she likes being on the water…In her spare time, she likes going to the beach, eating and hanging out with friends…She lists her high school coach, Ethan Curren, and her college coach, Erik Miller, as the most influential people in her sporting career because they encouraged her passion for and excitement about rowing.
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