MSU alumna Emily Regan and the U.S. women’s coxed eight won gold in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
On Aug. 13 paddles thrashed through Lagoa Stadium. While trailing Canada and the Netherlands through the halfway mark, Regan said she was confident her team would win it all.
The U.S. women made their push just after the halfway mark, and from there the pressure was on. With Great Britain on their tail, Regan said she knew this was it. It was time to push every ounce of strength left to win the race.
“I remember hearing the Great Britain coxswain calling her crew to go around 300m left in the race and thinking it was time to find any push I had left to move away from them,” Regan said via email.
After six years of training and a time of 6:01.49, Regan and the U.S. women’s rowing team won gold.
“Winning gold was an overwhelming experience in the best way possible,” Regan said.
Completely overcome with emotion and flooded with memories of all the highs and lows of training, Regan said she started to cry when they crossed the finish line.
“It was so special to represent my country at the Olympic games at that level,” Regan said.
As a MSU alumna, Regan said she hopes to pave a way and inspire future MSU athletes to dream big and know the Olympics can be a realistic goal.
“I know that it’s not often that a person has the opportunity to compete at the Olympics,” Regan said. “But to have a great race in the final of the Olympic Games was very gratifying.”
Competing in Rio took six years of intense training Regan said. While in Rio, Regan was able to watch multiple sporting events.
“The Brazilian people were amazing and very welcoming,” Regan said. “I missed out on doing a lot of the typical tourist things, but I was able to fully take in the Olympic experience.”
Regan might have missed out on being a tourist, but she was able to take in the views of the city. Christ the Redeemer looked down on the Lagoa Stadium as athletes competed in the water.
Press swarmed Olympians about the water conditions while training. However, Regan said she didn’t see any issues and soaked up the experience.
“It was totally fine,” Regan said. “We all basically swam in the lake due to some very windy days.”
With a gold medal in hand, Regan said she plans to catch up on some lost time this fall.
The Olympic team has the opportunity to visit the White House this fall and Regan said she is looking forward to visiting MSU during her time off.
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