Reflecting on Paris 2024 and the Road Ahead

Competing in Paris was a dream come true, but it also revealed the gap between where we are and where we want to be. The level of competition at the Olympics is unlike anything else.

Before even getting to Paris though, we had a successful precamp in Brive-la-Gaillarde. Racing pieces in camp were promising: we were able to match relative speeds of boats that had done well all throughout the season and the spirit within the boat was high. Leaving Brive, we were confident and excited to race in Paris.

Once in Paris, the atmosphere was incredible. The Olympic Village was buzzing with energy, and it was amazing to be surrounded by athletes from all over the world. The course was more modern than anything I got the pleasure of experiencing, the grandstands were larger than anything I had ever seen and crowds were louder than I could have imagined at rowing events. It was clear that the Olympics were larger than the sport itself.

Racing was tough. We had planned to come out fast in the heat and race for one of the two spots in the A-final available, knowing that the tight competition will make it that much harder to advance through the repechage. Unfortunately we came up short in the heat and had to race the repechage. The repechage was exactly what we had expected: furious racing from the start, with the top 2 boats advancing to the A-final. We gave it our all, but came up just short, finishing 5th and finishing the regatta racing the B-final.

After racing had concluded, I stayed in Paris for a few days to enjoy the city and the Olympic atmosphere with my teammates, friends and family. It was an incredible experience to be a part of the Olympic Games, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have competed on the world's biggest stage.

Now, back in Berkeley, I'm balancing my studies with training on the men's rowing team here at Cal. Training under the watchful eye of Scott Frandsen within a team of over 60 guys is as enjoyable as ever and a refreshing change after the heavy loads of the olympic season. The focus now is to find back into a sustainable rythm before pursuing the 2025 IRA National Championships in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

I would like to thank my friends, family, teammates, coaches: Namely my Parents Tomas and Ingrid, my coaches at GC including Thomas Böhme and Sam Glynn, the coaching staff at Cal including Scott Frandsen, Sam Baum and Brandon Shald, and everyone else who supported me on my journey to the Olympics. I couldn't have done it without you.