Michelle Sechser graduated from Tulsa in 2008 and is currently set to stroke the USA LW2x at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
My older sister was the first in our family to give rowing a try, so I had spent a lot of weekends on the shores of Lake Natoma watching her regattas. I loved watching the excitement of the races; coxswains yelling, coaches cheering, and these large boats sprinting towards the finish line. All of my previous hobbies had been performative: ballet, gymnastics, orchestra. I had never really done a side-by-side racing sport and felt really drawn to it.
I don't remember my first practice but I certainly remember my first race. Our coach had prepared us well (or as well as you can prepare a high school novice 8+) and I felt confident and strong sitting on the start line, excited to best our competitors. It was the first time I'd ever felt that way and I knew I wanted more of it. Well, that and how our Novice 8 decided we would all yell out the number of each stroke of our "power tens" when we were walking through other crews. Novice year was great.
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?
A really motivating experience for me was the 2012 Olympic Trials. My LW2Xs partner, Chelsea Smith, and I were young and the race was a bit over our heads. Our goal was to do well enough to find our way into a LW4x that could race at Non-Olympic Worlds Trials later in the summer. Olympic Trials kicked off with a time trial and we came in 2nd! We were giddy with excited and ended up third in the final. It definitely made me hungry to work hard and get faster, seeing that while we were a bit off of the top, it wasn't that far way. I came away motivated to see if I could keep working away at this and try to get a little faster each year.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
My favorite race might be the 2015 LW2x World Cup in Lucerne with Devery Karz. I had been out of the boat with an injury so close to the race, that it was undecided if we would even go. Devery and I hadn't had many rows together before the racing started, but as soon as we were back in the boat we synced right back up and we were ready to roll. We had been trailing the field in last bit, and Devery called an early and aggressive sprint. We closed on the field like a freight train and found our way onto the podium.
That race is tied with the 2021 Trials I with Molly in Sarasota when she lost control of her oar off the start. We raged-built the boat right back up to speed and she handled it like a champ. My worst race was 2013 World Championships; my first full World Championships and I was in the LW1x. I thought I was an absolute champ in the Semi-Final because I was leading to the 1000m mark. I was clearly inexperienced with how racing at that level plays out as the field lifts in the 2nd half of the race.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
At the 2016 USRowing Speed Order, I broke the LW 6k world record on the erg. That was a really fun piece. It has since been broken by Jenny Cason of the Canadian LW2x (and fellow Univ. of Tulsa alum), so I need to take another crack at it. But we'll also be seeing each other on the start line in Tokyo, where it really matters.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Believe in yourself and the power of hard work. I wish when I was younger I had believed in myself more and not been afraid to dream big and really believe that I could achieve hard goals. It's helped to have a lot of encouraging people along the way. It's not an easy thing to do when you're young and unsure of yourself. If you're willing to put in the hard, focused work that it will take to get there, don't be afraid to set big goals and become a version of yourself that would blow your current self out of the water. And be a good teammate. This will be the most important foundation you can build your rowing career on. Learn how to help raise up your teammates in the boat and help them be the best version of themselves. Support them, empower them, call them out when they need it. If you do this you're going to enjoy the journey along the way a lot more, and it will help make the boat you're in go faster.
Hometown: Folsom, CA
Birthplace: San Luis Obispo, CA
Current Residence: Cambridge, MA
Club Affiliation: Cambridge Boat Club
Began Rowing: 2000 at Capital Crew
Date of Birth: 11/1/86
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 126
High School: Folsom High School
Undergraduate Education: University of Tulsa, Business
Graduate Education: MBA, The University of Tulsa
Training Location: Sarasota, FL
Current Coach: Casey Galvanek
Number of Years on National Team: 2011 Pan Ams, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
International Results:
-2011 Pan Ams: Bronze LW2x and W4x
-2012 World Champs LW4x: 4th
-2013 World Champs LW1x: 7th
-2014 World Champs LW2x: 8th
-2015 World Champs LW2x: 9th
-2016 World Cup LW1x: 4th
-2017 World Champs LW2x: 3rd
-2018 World Champs LW1x: 4th
-2019 World Champs LW2x: 10th
-2021 in LW2x Trials and FOQR: 1st
Personal: I started rowing after watching my older sister, Jacquie, join the team. Rowing was my first team sport and I absolutely love that aspect of it. When I'm not in racing season I love training, and sometimes racing, bikes. My ideal recovery Sunday would be a hard, hilly bike ride with friends that ends with good coffee or a cookout. My favorite place to be when we're not rowing the boat is in the water or on another boat: water-skiing, swimming, hanging out at the lake. I currently work for the Digital Medicine Society, led by former LW2x Olympian and Executive Director, Jen Goldsack.
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