2016 Olympic Games Flash Quotes 8.13.16
Women’s Single Sculls - Silver
Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass.)
“This can’t be a better way to go out. Kimmy (Brennan) so deserves that (gold medal), and to be
that close to her, I feel like I am on top of the moon. I can’t imagine a better way to end your
career.”
“It’s so funny because they think ‘oh, the silver medalist must be so unhappy they didn’t win
gold,’ but I am so happy. I could not be happier. Kimmy (Brennan) has been on top, and to be so
close to her and to get the silver medal is just amazing.”
“In the thousand, I took a traditional twenty for the folks back home and realized how good I felt.
At that point, I felt like I was in a good place because my legs just were not feeling it yet. When
we hit the cross-chop I could see everyone else feeling it, and I thought ‘Yes, this is Boston! This
is what I want, rough water!’ So I think the middle five hundred was my jam.”
“This weather. This wind. This is classic Boston basin. We got some wind and some wake
bounce, and I felt this is my thing. I can row through wakes.”
Coach Gregg Stone (Newton, Mass.)
“She had had her best race of her life to date in London. She wanted to see if she could do better.
She got encouragement from people that really know rowing and was able to schedule her last
two years of med school to stay in it.”
“I’m so proud of her and how much work she’s put in to get this done. You can’t really separate
(being a dad and being a coach). I’m thrilled in every way.”
Women’s Eight - Gold
Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
“I feel incredible. I feel like I can’t believe that just happened. You visualize the race and put
yourself in different scenarios, but ultimately whatever the actual scenario is, this group is
awesome at just internalizing and focusing on our rhythm and what we could do as a unit of
nine.”
Kerry Simmonds (San Diego, Calif.)
“It’s all kind of a blur. The only thing I can specifically remember is the last five hundred push,
the last three hundred, maybe. Specifically the sprint, just going together to make that one final
push to get to the line first.”
Katelin Snyder (Detroit, Mich.)
“All I said was to trust your fitness, trust the plan and trust your teammates.”
“We really pride ourselves on being a group of nine people that can come together on the exact
same team and that is what we did out there today. That is something that we could draw power,
pride and excitement from, and we did.”
“I think it was during the third five hundred (meters) when we started moving, and it just felt like
everyone was going together. I was going with them and they were going with me. We were all
backing each other up like a true eight, and it felt really good.”
Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y.)
“I think (Coach Tom Terhaar) was just proud of us. I think that in addition to the girls on the
team, our coaches are really the only people who know what we have been through and how
much work we put in.”
Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine)
“This one practice, a couple months ago, we had to endure a rowing piece. There was a group that
went before us, and they were finishing their piece and everyone was giving two hundred percent.
There was nothing left in their effort, and it was all on their faces. It made me think, ‘Wow, what
an amazing experience to be a part of this group, where everyone is just giving everything they
have, every day.’ To be able to not take for granted each moment, each practice and to keep
getting better is an amazing experience.”
On the Rio Olympics vs. London
“It is a totally different experience. Meghan (Musnicki) and I have been saying that we feel so
lucky and fortunate to be a part of this boat and this team. Their hunger to be the best we could be
every single day has really pushed us to a new level that we didn’t think we had. Every day we
had to look to be better ourselves.”
Tessa Gobbo (Chesterfield, N.H.)
“All races are tough, and that was a really tough one, where everyone across the board stayed in
it. I have never been shocked to be in a tough race; I am always a little shocked to be ahead. Just
gotta keep your cool when you get an inch ahead.”
Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y.)
“I think the nine of us, along with every other U.S. women’s boat that raced here, and then the
women who didn’t get to come here, have been the definition of us this whole (quadrennial) –
pulling together as a unit, all 30+ of us. It is an honor to be a part of such an amazing group of
women and to feel like every single one of them is rooting for you and has your back. It’s very
special.”
Coach Tom Terhaar (Buffalo, N.Y.)
“This is probably the toughest boat we have ever had. They did a phenomenal job, because the
field is just getting tighter and harder every single year, and that was the highest quality ever.
Technically, that was their second race together, so they did an incredible job.”
On the women’s pair performance:
“Obviously, we wanted better, but realistically, if you’re not fast enough to win the event, you’re
not going to get a medal. I don’t think anyone under-performed. I think it’s really, really tough,
especially if it’s your first Olympics. You throw in tough conditions, and things can really
snowball.”
On dealing with the pressure of the streak:
“We try not to think about it, but it’s hard not to. It’s more important that each time, they feel like
it’s new and don’t carry that pressure. It’s a new lineup almost every single time. I just try to
forget about it.”
Men’s Eight - Fourth
Coach Luke McGee (Princeton, N.J.)
“We’re disappointed. We had hopes for a medal, certainly after the rep. We knew the Dutch
would be dangerous, they are a strong and experienced crew.”
“It’s a good group. I hope a lot of them come back.”
Sam Ojserkis (Linwood, N.J.)
“It has and it hasn’t sunk in yet. I am not sure, but it is just disappointing.”
Alex Karwoski (Hollis, N.H.)
“Credit to Great Britain, Germany and the Dutch. It was a good race by them. We didn’t have it
today. It’s disappointing, but that’s why you race.”
Mike DiSanto (Boston, Mass.)
“This is the big league. You need to have your best race on the day. Unfortunately, not for lack of
effort, we didn’t do that. There is no room for error. This is the pinnacle of the sport.”
“You don’t ever want to take this for granted. It is a pretty special thing to make it to an Olympic
final and compete for a medal. Unfortunately, we were unable to get one today.”
Hans Struzyna (Kirkland, Wash.)
“It is a tough pill to swallow. This boat had to claw its way through a lot. And it just didn’t
happen on the day.”
Sam Dommer (Folsom, Calif.)
“There is country pride, but at the same time, you feel like you let your country down. We went
out there and threw everything we had at it, and we came up short. We really have bought-in this
week, and we thought we started to find something. We came up short, and that is how it goes.
This is the sport that when you set goals for yourself to compete at the highest level and you miss
it, it hurts.”
Austin Hack (Old Lyme, Conn.)
“Less than a year ago, we failed to qualify for this event and had to retool the whole thing over
the course of the year. It has been battles, week-in and week-out. To finally get to this stage is
awesome, but I think everyone would have loved to come away with a little more.”