Today I’m talking to Olympic rowers, Kristi Wagner and Dr. Gevvie Stone.
Kristi and Gevvie are US national team rowers who teamed up to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the double sculls. While they found themselves lining up against the best in the world last summer, neither one initially had their sights set on the Olympics back when they finished their collegiate rowing careers.
Kristi rowed at Yale and earned a BA in American Studies, then kept rowing to stay active when she took her first job out of college. After some encouraging results on the water, Kristi made the decision to put her career on hold and train full time, moving to ARION, an elite club based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Kristi navigated injury, expectations, and a pandemic, but developed the perseverance needed to make her first Olympic team in 2021.
Gevvie, on the other hand, is a three-time Olympian and a silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the single sculls who also happens to currently be an emergency medicine resident. Gevvie rowed and studied history at Princeton while also completing her pre-med requirements. After a gap year when she was cut from the 2008 Olympic team, Gevvie thought she was done with rowing and started medical school at Tufts. Over the next three Olympic cycles, Gevvie continued rowing in Boston and chose to take time away from med school and then residency in order to make seven national teams and compete in the London, Rio, and Tokyo Olympics. Following the Tokyo games, Gevvie has returned again to her residency program.
Both women credit their persistence with the sport to both a love of rowing and the support of the rowing community.
We talk about:
- Putting your career on hold to pursue a dream
- Having different identities work and athletics
- Being driven by a love of the sport
- Inspring the next generation
- The privilege of training for the Olympics
- Jumping in before you feel like you’re ready
For more information on Kristi Wagner and Dr. Gevvie Stone, you can find them on social:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Stitcher
