Inge Janssen rowed for the University of Virginia in 2010 and is currently set to race in the Dutch W4x at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
When I was eighteen, I joined a student rowing club when I went to college in Utrecht, without a single practice in the boat. In the Netherlands, student rowing clubs are big social clubs as well, where only 5-10 percent rows competitively. For sure, I wasn’t planning to take rowing too seriously, I was more interested in the parties and the social events ;-). I don’t remember my very first practice, but I do remember the first sort of introduction race after a couple of weeks and perhaps 6 or 8 practices. We did them in very broad fours (C4+). In the semifinal we were pushed out of the corner by another boat and lost. We were offered to re-race and my teammates didn’t really bother. That’s when I first realized I was far more competitive than the others. A couple weeks later they convinced me to join the freshmen eight and that's where the real competitive rowing started.
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 have been very lucky with the team and staff I had during my first years at my rowing club ORCA. We were undefeated with our freshmen eight, and we even won the open national championship in that boat. The winning feeling was addictive, but I wasn’t really thinking about a future in rowing. My coach was very ambitious and always said that 2 or 3 of us would make the Olympics (he turned out right). At that time, I still didn’t really believe I could be one of them. I guess it was in my third year of rowing, when I rowed for the University of Virginia, that I realized I might have the talent and strength for this rowing thing. I remember one training session in the tanks that Kevin, our head coach, said to me, “you know, you could become a Dutch Olympian.” When I returned to Holland a year later, that little sentence became my goal, not knowing how fast I would actually achieve it.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
My best races were probably the Olympic Final in Rio and the World Championship final the following year. In Rio, I really felt we were in contention for gold, a feeling I hadn't had before with that boat, even though we had many silver and bronze medals from the World Cups. I really don’t think we could have done anything better in that Olympic final. In the end we won silver, but that feeling motivated me for the year after. In Sarasota, all we wanted was to finally win, we were done with the lesser medals. In contrast to Rio, we did not row our perfect race, but we were so determined to win, that with 200 to go, there was no doubt, and we pulled off a brilliant sprint finish for the win.
My worst race was probably in Lucerne this year. I don’t think I ever underperformed that much. We still don’t know exactly what went wrong, but we found our rhythm and speed in the following training camp. It sure does remind me that going fast isn’t a given thing.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I don’t think there are big secrets in my rowing career, but I have raced some races that aren't very important or serious, and therefore people don’t know about it. For example, I won the Champ double at the HOCR three years in a row, with different partners. Memories I do cherish, also because those races are sometimes so much more fun.
Another example is the Amsterdam City Sprints in 2013, racing 150 meters or so on the channels of the centre of Amsterdam. I had to compete against Knapkova and Karsten, who were still big idols for me at that time. The whole event was new, quite weird, but a lot of fun. First I had to guide them from the Amstel, through the entire centre (which is not really made for rowing) towards the right spot, and there we had to race in a knock-out system. Everything was quite chaotic, but fun at the same time. I won the race and was pretty stoked, but I believe they both beat me the day after at the Holland Beker Regatta.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Dream big, but don’t row with the only purpose to make the national team. Not everybody who wants it, will make the national team, and some who might have the talent, don’t have the ambition to do so. For me, rowing is about enjoying training, competition, and challenging yourself. If the route to the top (or to anywhere) is not worth it in itself, then don’t do it!
Hometown: Voorburg, NED
Date of Birth: April 20, 1989
Height: 6' 0"
Undergraduate Education: University of Virginia, 2010
National Teams: Nine - Under 23, 2011; Senior, 2013-15, 2017, 2019; Olympic, 2012, 2016, 2020
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