Monthly Archives: May 2013

2013 National Selection Regatta #2 Recap

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As quickly as National Selection Regatta #1 flew by, so has National Selection Regatta #2. Time flies when you’re going fast. NSR #2 events included the men’s pair, men’s double, women’s double, lightweight men’s double, and the lightweight women’s double. The lightweight men’s pair raced as a speed order event. With NSR #1 and #2 wrapped up, we’re one step closer towards naming the 2013 United States Men’s and Women’s National Rowing Teams.

What does the NSR mean? The winning boats gain the opportunity (if they choose to accept) to compete at one or both of the upcoming World Rowing Cup events, and with a top four or top half finish, earn a berth on the U.S. National Team that will compete at the 2013 World Rowing Championships August 25-September 1 in Chungju, South Korea.

Like NSR #1, NSR #2 also featured top performances from the men and women at the United States Training Center. The Men’s Pair featured an all USRowing Training Center A Final with the six boats finishing within less than ten seconds of each other. If I hadn’t already been in the cool down area cooling down from my own race, I would have loved to have seen this grueling hard-fought 2,000-meter race between the Training Center men. 2012 bronze medalist from the Men’s Four, Henrik Rummel paired up with 2012 Team Alternate Mike Gennaro to take first place ahead of Seth Weil and London Olympian Grant James in second, followed by London Olympian Steve Kasprzyk and Max Goff in third.

Taylor Goetzinger and Meghan Musnicki, Women's Pair. Photo courtesy of row2k.com
Taylor Goetzinger and Meghan Musnicki, USTC Women’s Pair. Photo courtesy of row2k.com

There were only five total entries in the Women’s Pair, all from the USRowing Training Center. After a second place finish in the Time Trial behind Vicky Opitz and Felice Mueller, Taylor Goetzinger and 2012 gold medalist from the Women’s Eight Meghan Musnicki took first in the A Final, switching places with Opitz and Mueller who crossed the line less than two seconds later in second place. Grace Luczak and Lauren Schmetterling took third. It was another tight finish with the top three boats separated by about only two and half seconds.

The Men’s Double didn’t include any Princeton Training Center athletes, as the USRowing Training Center in Princeton is primarily a sweep camp for the men. Shoutout to Willie Cowles and fellow Virginia grad, Matt Miller from Potomac Boat Club for taking first place.

The Women’s Lightweight Double was a lot of fun to watch. It wasn’t that it was a tight finish like the men’s pair and women’s pair, it was the dominating factor in which three-time national team athlete and silver medalist (who used to row open-weight), Kate Bertko and London Olympian, Kristin Hedstrom won the event. These are two experienced scullers who know how to move the boat and have teamed up for the first time (literally, their first row together was just a couple of days before the NSR #2 Time Trial). I’m super pumped to see this boat continue to come together and what kind of speed they put up internationally. The United States hasn’t medaled the lightweight women’s double since Sydney 2000 (Bronze; Christine Collins / Sarah Garner). Watch out Rio 2016.

Kristin Hedstrom and Kate Berko, Lightweight Women's Double. Photo courtesy of row2k.com
Kristin Hedstrom and Kate Berko, Lightweight Women’s Double. Photo courtesy of row2k.com

The Lightweight Men’s Double was won by composite entry of Malta Boat Club’s Colin Ethridge and Vesper’s Peter Alter.

The Lightweight Men’s Pair was another speedy race. In an all USTC-Oklahoma A Final, top pair Robin Prendes and Anthony Fahden won the event as well as the overall percentage (GMS = Gold Medal Standard) of the regatta with a time of 6:46.16. To put it into perspective, their time would have put them in 5th place in the heavyweight Men’s Pair A Final, beating out 8 other boats. Nicely done.

Last, but certainly not least…the Women’s Double was won by 2008 Beijing Olympian Ellen Tomek and myself, Meghan O’Leary from the Princeton Training Center. We finished about five seconds ahead of the composite entry of London gold medalist Esther Lofgren rowing for Potomac Boat Club and four-time National Team member Stesha Carle, rowing for California Rowing Club. Composite entry of USTC-Princeton’s Liv Coffey and Vesper Boat Club’s Grace Latz took third.

Meghan O'Leary and Ellen Tomek, USTC Women's Double. Photo courtesy of row2k.com
Meghan O’Leary and Ellen Tomek, USTC Women’s Double. Photo courtesy of row2k.com

On a personal note, racing and winning my first NSR #2 was a thrill. When is winning not exciting? In the timeline of achieving goals, it was step one toward making my first National Team. Tomek and I will go on to race at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland to hopefully qualify and then race at the World Championships. As a boat, we have a lot of potential and speed to gain. I’m excited to see what we can do with a little time and more racing experience.

As with many of the other crews coming out of both NSR #1 and #2 as well as all of the athletes at the Training Center, we return to the water and the weight room without skipping a beat. It’s already been a grueling week of training filled with the ups and downs that rowing bestows upon us. Time to work harder than ever.

Every Day Counts.

Thanks, Mom.

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Behind every successful athlete (rower) is a long line of great people who helped them get there. I’m lucky to have some pretty amazing people in my life who have supported and encouraged me in my professional, athletic and personal endeavors. One of the biggest influences in my life has always been my mother. I know there are some pretty stellar rowing moms out there. So in theme with Mother’s Day today, this is to say thanks, Mom.

Kathy O'Leary, Drury College Tennis 1974.

Thank you for showing me that strength and confidence is beautiful. I grew up playing with my brothers and all the other boys in the neighborhood. My mom never once let me think any different of myself just because I was a girl. The word “can’t” was never a part of my vocabulary or belief system. I am where I am today because of the courage and grit she instilled in me. My mom is the bravest, strongest person I know. What a role model to grow up with.

Thank you for helping pave the way and encouraging me to play sports. My mom grew up without Title IX and therefore without the opportunities that I was afforded due to her struggle and fight to gain equality not only in sport, but society overall. One of my earliest memories is playing on an all boys soccer team. Although I had my twin brother with me on the team, I was still the lonely girl. Better believe I ran just as fast if not faster and played just as hard if not harder than all those other boys. And my mother was there cheering me on the whole time. She drove me around to every practice and game, forfeiting weekends and holidays to spend them sitting in bleachers watching hours of softball, soccer, basketball or volleyball. Twenty plus years later and she’s still my biggest fan. I couldn’t be more excited to have her visiting Princeton this week to watch me race the double in the National Selection Regatta #2.

Finally, thank you for being my best friend. Whether it’s to vent (or hopefully brag) about the latest erg test, ask for advice, or just to pass the time while sitting in traffic, I love that you’ve always been there to listen and always will.

mom and me cheesin

Happy Mother’s Day to all the rowing moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. Thank you for all that you do.

Every Day Counts.

In Pursuit of the Dream

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A little over a month ago, I hung up my ESPN gig to pursue the Olympic dream. That’s right. I’ve officially traded in my business suit for a unisuit. After juggling what was basically two full-time jobs for nearly three years, I finally made the decision to go all in. No regrets. My time with ESPN was nothing short of wonderful. They were kind enough to put out a farewell post on the ESPN Front Row website last week. Check it out below:

ESPN’s Meghan O’Leary starts full-time pursuit of her U.S. Olympic Rowing Team dreams

2013 National Selection Regatta I. (Photo courtesy of Erik Dresser / row2k)
2013 National Selection Regatta I. (Photo courtesy of Erik Dresser / row2k)

Working for ESPN for nearly five years, I have had the unique opportunity to not only witness amazing sports moments but to be a part of capturing and telling the great stories in sports. It’s why I first got into television and why I wanted to work for the best in the business.

I love storytelling. The world of sports has an infinite number of inspiring acts of sportsmanship, unbelievable feats of the underdog, and last-second victories that make you jump to your feet and send goosebumps down your spine.

After five years of being on the “other” side of sports, I have made the difficult decision to put my ESPN career on hold and take a leap into chasing my own sports story, in hopes to become an Olympian.

Less than three years ago, I attended my first “learn to row” class at a small rowing club on the Connecticut River in Hartford, Conn. Just 18 months later, I received the official invite and began training with the United States Women’s Rowing Team at the U.S. Rowing Training Center based in Princeton, N.J.

I was fortunate enough to have the support from ESPN to train with the U.S. Team while continuing to work. After spending last year as a member of the 2012 Olympic selection group, I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I had stumbled upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I could not have done this without the support from my coworkers and managers. It’s impossible to fully express how much I have valued my time with ESPN and have grown from the experiences and relationships I’ve made with all of the wonderful and talented people here. From my beginning as a Production Assistant in the Charlotte-ESPN Regional Television office, to my time with Programming in Connecticut, ESPN has positively altered the course of my life in so many ways.

And so I’ve turned in the laptop and PDA for a boat and oars. What used to be days full of meetings and conference calls are now filled will two, three, or maybe four training sessions; presentations and performance reviews are replaced with World Cup and World Championship races; and finally watching those big sports moments are replaced with creating my own.

Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the inspiration.

At the ESPNU Warrior Classic men’s college lacrosse event in Hartford, Conn. circa 2011 (L-R) ESPNU’s Rosalyn Durant, Meghan O’Leary, Kevin Lopes, Lauren Albee, Dan Margulis, AJ Mazza and consultant Darren Lachtman.

Every Day Counts.

2013 National Selection Regatta #1 Recap

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And just like that, the 2013 National Selection Regatta #1 is over. Monday began another week of training; things falling right back into place as it was before race week. It’s sort of like that moment after finishing Thanksgiving Dinner when you look down at your clean plate and around the table at the empty serving dishes. So much effort goes into this “big event” that comes around just once a year. Weeks, maybe months of planning; days of traveling; days of cooking; and then it’s all over in a fraction of the time spent preparing for it.

Lake Mercer Sunset, 2013 NSR #1

For many of us, we had been focusing on this race for months. Every training session, every erg test, every piece on the water was a step toward preparing and ensuring that we show up in top form for NSR #1. It’s the opportunity to test yourself and see how you stack up against athletes outside the Training Center. Of course we all want to win, but for everyone else who doesn’t take that coveted first place spot and go on to race the single at a World Cup and possibly the World Championships, NSR #1 also acts a measure for big boat selection later in the year. So if you know you’re most likely not going to win the whole thing, you want to make sure you get as close as you can.

This year’s NSR was a solid one for the six women representing the USRowing Training Center in Princeton: Eleanor Logan, Megan Kalmoe, Ellen Tomek, Olivia Coffey, Vicky Opitz and myself. Beginning with Thursday’s Time Trial, the USTC athletes opened the regatta by posting the six fastest times in the Women’s 1x event. Strong performances continued into the afternoon heats with all six women placing within the top two or top three of their respective heats and advancing to the semifinals the following morning.

By the end of Saturday’s Finals racing, the USTC athletes had finished the regatta just as strong as they began it, dominating their respective races. The A Final was stacked: five of the six women were multi-year National Team members including four Olympians: two Gold medalists in the W8+ (Logan a 2-time Gold Medalist; Esther Lofgren, 2012 Gold medalist rowing under Potomac Boat Club); 2-time Olympian and 2012 Bronze medalist in the W4x Megan Kalmoe; and 2008 Beijing Olympian Ellen Tomek. This leaves Stesha Carle, 4-time National Team member and myself, with zero National Team experience. I couldn’t have been more excited, anxious, nervous (insert adjective here) to be going up against such a formidable field of competitors.

Logan took first in the A Final, winning the NSR and thereby earning the right to compete at a 2013 World Cup event this spring to possibly qualify herself to go on and compete at the World Championships. Tomek and Kalmoe took 2nd and 3rd followed by yours truly in 4th place. Opitz won the B Final with Coffey hot on her heels taking 2nd place.

All in all it was a great few days of racing for the USTC athletes. Although we are always competing with each other and continuously ranked against one another, it is exciting to have the opportunity to root for your teammates and want to see them go fast and do well…just not as fast as you.

Every Day Counts.