Olympians
Olympic Profiles
Q&A with Rob Munn
At the Rio Olympics in August, women’s head coach Yaz Farooq caught up with Rob Munn, ’12, who rowed in the U.S. men’s eight that took fourth. Read the interview here.
U.S. WOMEN'S 8 WINS GOLD AT RIO
MEDIA COVERAGE
>Sports Illustrated: The Dynasty Continues: U.S. Rowing Women’s Eight Wins Third-Straight Olympic Gold
>The New York Times: A Simple Yell Helps a Dynasty Pull Together
>ESPN: U.S. Women’s 3rd Straight Rowing Win a New Gold Standard
>The Washington Post: The Best Team in Rio? The U.S. Women’s Eight. They’re Rowers, and They’re Awesome.
>The Seattle Times: Two Former UW Huskies Lead U.S. Women’s Eight to Rowing Gold
Huskies at Rio News
The University of Washington’s association with Olympic rowing is a long and well-documented one, all the more so in the last couple of years thanks to the overwhelming popularly of Daniel James Brown’s bestseller, “The Boys in the Boat,” the tale of the Husky crew that won Olympic gold in Berlin in 1936.
And, while long gone are the days when a group of undergraduates from one university crew would represent its country, the UW’s representation at the Olympic Games remains impressive and a worthy source of great pride for the program. >>Full story here.
Aug. 13, 2016: U.S. Women Win Gold, Men Fourth at Olympics
Aug. 12, 2016: Obee Wins Olympic Silver For Canada
Aug. 11, 2016: Three More Crews With UW Alums On To Finals In Rio
Aug. 8, 2016: All 12 UW Rowing Alums In Action Monday In Rio
ESPN: U. of Washington rowers motivated by school's rich Olympic history
Aug. 8, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO — When Hans Struzyna began his University of Washington rowing career, he and his freshman teammates were required to learn two things right off the bat. One, the words to the school fight song, “Bow Down to Washington.” Two, they needed to memorize the names of each member of the 1936 Huskies crew that won the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Sports Illustrated: The Unbeatables: U.S. women’s eight is the most dominant team in Rio
July 22, 2016
On a still and muggy morning, the first full day of summer, nine young women gather in the shade beside the C. Bernard Shea Rowing Center at Princeton, the home base of USRowing. In shorts and tank tops, barefoot or in flip-flops, hair pulled up and sweaty, they mill about, chatting, laughing, checking phones and taking long pulls from water bottles. The first workout of the day is done.
Seattle Times: More than ‘Boys in the Boat’: For UW Crew, Olympic Rowing Ties Run Deep
July 25, 2016
With one of the most storied histories in collegiate rowing, it is no wonder that Washington rowers have such a prominent presence at the Olympics. The eight former Huskies who are competing for the U.S. make up nearly 20 percent of the current Olympic rowing team.
DANIELLE HANSEN EARNS PLACE ON U.S. PARALYMPICS TEAM
June 29, 2016
Danielle Hansen, who just wrapped up her junior season at the University of Washington this past spring, has earned a spot on the United States Paralympic Rowing Team, which will compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games this September in Rio Di Janeiro.
FOUR MORE UW ALUMS EARN U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM SPOTS
June 20, 2016
Four more former Washington rowers have been named to the United States team for the 2016 Olympic Games, USRowing announced Monday.
Adrienne Martelli ’10 and Megan Kalmoe ’06 both earned spots in the U.S. quadruple sculls while Katelin Snyder ’09 and Kerry Simmonds ’11 will both compete in the American women’s eight. Snyder is the boat’s coxswain.
Five Former Huskies Punch 2016 Olympics Tickets
May 24, 2016
Five former Washington rowers, including four in the United States men’s eight, earned a trip to the 2016 Olympic Games thanks to their performances at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. The U.S. men’s eight, with coxswain Sam Ojserkis ’12 and rowers Rob Munn ’12, Hans Struzyna ’11 and Sam Dommer ’13, won a thrilling final to move on to the Olympics while the Canada quadruple sculls, with Rob Gibson ’09 rowing in the No. 2 seat, finished second to book its ticket to Brazil.
Good Start For Huskies At Olympic Qualifiers
May 22, 2016
Seven current and former Washington rowers began their competitions at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta Sunday in Lucerne, Switzerland. In the men’s quadruple sculls, Ben Davison ’18 and the American boat finished second, falling to New Zealand by just 0.14 seconds in its heat, and will race in a repechage Monday. In the other quad sculls heat, Rob Gibson ’09 and his Canadian team also finished second. The Canadians and the U.S. will be joined by Italy, China and Norway in Monday’s repechage, where all but the fifth-place finisher will join the Kiwis and Russia in the final Tuesday. In that final, the top two finishers will earn a spot in the 2016 Olympics.
Stuart Sim Selected as Coxswain of Australian Men’s Eight
Feb. 22, 2016
Washington coxswain Stuart Sim has been selected as the coxswain of Australia’s men’s eight that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sim and his boat will row in the final Olympic Qualification Regatta May 22-24 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the last chance for the Aussies to qualify their eight for the Rio Games.
2016 Olympic Hopefuls
Huskies Boast Long List of Olympic Hopefuls
Washington Rowing has a history of producing world-class athletes, and that talent pool of current rowers and alumni is as strong as ever as several Huskies are in the running to represent their respective countries at the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August.
In total, 24 Huskies from seven countries are vying for spots at the 2016 Rio Games, 12 coming from the U.S., the most of any country represented.
The months leading up to the 2016 Games will include three World Rowing Cups, the European Championships and Qualification Regatta, as well as numerous selection regattas within each national
United States
Benjamin Davison, ‘18
Samuel Dommer, ‘14
Dani Hansen, ‘16
Megan Kalmoe, ‘06
Adrienne Martelli, ‘10
Robert Munn, ‘12
Samuel Ojserkis, ‘12
Ambrose Puttmann, ‘12
Hans Struzyna, ‘11
Kerri Simmonds, ‘11
Katelin Snyder, ‘09
Liz Vogt, ‘15
Canada
William Crothers, ‘09
Rosie Debouf, ‘10
Robert Gibson, ‘08
Conlin McCabe, ‘12
Patricia Obee, ‘14
Great Britain
Fiona Gammond, ‘15
Ruth Whyman, ‘14
Australia
Maddie Cordner, ‘14
Stuart Sim, ‘16 (selected men’s 8+ coxswain)
New Zealand
Kirstyn Goodger, ‘14
Serbia
Dusan Milovanovic, ‘13
Italy
Pietro Zileri, ‘17
Husky Olympians
Washington Rowing has produced a total of 73 Olympians in its history. UW had 12 rowers at the 2012 London Olympics, the most Huskies ever at an Olympic Games. The 12 combined to win seven medals – one gold, three silver and three bronze – to run UW’s total to 42 Olympic medals, including 23 gold medals.
UW women’s crew has 15 Olympians in its history, nine of which competed at the Olympics at least twice. Those 15 Olympians won five gold medals and nine medals overall. Mary Whipple is the most decorated Olympian in UW women’s crew history, having competed at the Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She coxed the American eight to two gold medals (2008, 2012) and a silver medal (2004).
UW men’s crew has a total of 58 Olympians, combining to win a total of 33 Olympic medals, including 18 gold medals. That includes the historic 1936 “Boys in the Boat” crew of nine Huskies that won gold in the eight representing the U.S., the five Huskies that comprised the 1948 U.S. gold-medal winning coxed four and the 1952 bronze winning 4+.
