![]() |
![]() |
Quick Stats: Susan Francia Rowing |
| school/year: | Penn/2004 | |
| birth date: | November 8 | |
| height: | 6′2″ | |
| weight: | 182 lbs | |
| hometown: | Abington, PA | |
| major: | Criminology | |
| training area: | Princeton, NJ | |
| coach: | Tom Terhaar | |
| personal best: | N/A | |
| ranking: | N/A | |
| outstanding achievement: | 4th at 2005 World Championships (8+) | |
| career goals: | Criminology & Criminal Law | |
I was sitting in bow seat and looked ahead at my teammates. Seeing this amazing group of athletes before me, I realized that this was probably the fastest crew of rowers I had ever sat with in one boat. Going down the lineup in my head, I knew with no question in my mind that we could win this. Yes, we were going to win.
The referee made the last announcement to sit ready. I straightened up, took a deep breath, and sat in position to take the first stroke. My palms were sweaty on the rubber grips of the oar. No time to be nervous, let’s do it. “Attention. Go!” Our boat started slow off the line. Ten strokes into it we were already down half a boat length to the Canadians. Our coxswain encouraged us to keep our composure and focus on ourselves. The crews around us seemed to go by in a blur. No time to panic, this is your race…Take it. As we approached the first 500 meters of the 2000 meter race, we were losing to the Canadians by a boat length. We had moved back on the other crews, but when I glanced to my right, I couldn’t even see the Canadian boat. How bad do you want this? Show them how badly you want it. Our ‘move,’ when we apply an extra spurt of power, was coming up at the 900 meter mark. We would have to move back on them at that moment if there was any chance for us to win this. Yes, here it comes, 900 meters down… we move now. Ten strokes high followed by ten strokes hard. We were gaining more and more distance between us and the other crews. Keeping the momentum of our move, I could see that we had walked back on the Canadian boat. I could see their white boat out of the corner of my eye. Keep your cool, keep your composure. This is where we take them. Our coxswain reinforced our will to win. It’s going to take everything you have, but you can do this. With 500 meters to go, there was only half a boat length of a lead between us and the Canadians. Inch by inch we closed the gap between us and them. We were going to have to start the sprint early to push ahead for the lead. My heart was at maximum exertion and my lungs could barely keep up. My legs burned from the lactic acid that was building up in them, but the adrenaline rush of moving on a national team crew flushed out all pain. If we could pull this off, this was going to be the win of a lifetime.
I could hear the cheers of the fans in the grandstands and so I knew the finish line was near. From my position in the bow we looked completely even. I was going to have to push that much harder to get ahead. One loud beep quickly followed by another indicated that the race was finally over. It was a close one. Confusion ensued since neither boat knew for sure who was the victor. The judge on shore pointed to our boat and nodded. We did it! Yes, we won! Our coxswain let out a loud whoop, and our entire boat cheered. Some of us splashed water, while others were too drained to even move. But it didn’t matter what we did at this point, since we had just had the most amazing victory of our lives. In just 6 minutes and 24 seconds our Vesper team wrote history by pulling such an amazing upset. Our coach, who had been standing at the 600 meter mark, had already planned his “it’s ok, they were a better crew” speech. Thankfully, no such speech was necessary. Although I have since earned more medals, some more coveted than others, the one that I won in the Champion 8+ that summer is the one that stays closest to my heart.


