If you want to know why she looks soooooo excited and happy, it's because she just won for the third time at the 1989 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. It's super hard to win even just once at this regatta... even if you're really good. And you only medal if you win.
I'm happy... but I only won this one race so I'm just smiling.
I'm happy... but I only won this one race so I'm just smiling.
Our coach was super annoyed that we didn't take off our awesome tube-sock-tops when we got up to the awards dock... but at least we did take off our groovy headbands.
My excited partner was, and still is, an amazing athlete. I remember when she got her VO2 test results back and they said "the lung capacity of a 7-foot tall man"... something like that anyway. She had the talent and she worked her butt off. Not only did she come to both team practice and row extra in her single on her own, but she would also run from morning practice to work and then back again in the evening. I was lame and biked.
She made the 1996 Olympic team and placed second in her event. She still rows, now in the masters category, and she still kicks everyone's butt.