Mary Whipple

Hobbies

Snowboarding, hiking, cross-country skiing and backpacking, basketball, wakeboarding, watching science-fiction movies. (US Rowing, 25 Oct 2005, teamusa.org, 29 Aug 2008, worldrowing.com, 07 Nov 2010)

Occupation

Athlete, Coach, Motivational Speaker

Education

Communications, Education - University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Family

Fiance Ryan Murray

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

US Rowing Training Centre, Princeton, NJ, USA

Coach

Tom Terhaar [national] (USA) (teamusa.org, 11 Oct 2011)

Position and style

Coxswain (US Rowing, 21 Sep 2001)

Other sports

Her twin sister, Sarah, was a coxswain at University of California in Davis. Both Mary and Sarah coxed their respective crews to gold medals at the 2002 NCAA Championships. In 2010 Sarah was an assistant rowing coach at the University of California-Berkeley. (US Rowing, 02 Oct 2003; rowing.teamusa.org, 27 Jul 2010)

Debut

2001 for United States, 2001 World Championships (Switzerland) (US Rowing, 21 Sep 2001)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
In 1994 along with her sister Sarah they enrolled in a learn-to-row class before their freshman year in high school and were invited to try out for Capital Crew rowing club's novice program at California State University. (rowing.teamusa.org, 27 Jul 2010)

Reason for taking up this sport
Although the Whipple sisters were told they were too small to be rowers, coach Sam Sweitzer explained to the Whipples that the role of coxswain falls right below that of coach, and they were the right size. (rowing.teamusa.org, 27 Jul 2010)

Ambitions
To win another Olympic gold at London 2012 which she says will be her last Games. After that she wants to go into coaching and mentoring full time. (gohuskies.com, 21 Nov 2011)

Most memorable sporting achievement
She says her most memorable is winning Olympic gold in Beijing in the coxed eight, but feels her proudest moment was the tenacity and drive of her team at the 2004 Olympic Games when the USA women's eight finished second to Romania after alternating the lead. (sports-reference.com, 31 Jan 2011, teamusa.org, 25 Apr 2009)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Each person has a job to do in their seat, but we all have to come together to make the boat go. I'm just one little piece of the puzzle. We're all in this together." (rowing.teamusa.org, 27 Jul 2010)

"Don't be afraid to try your hardest - just go for it." (Official College Sports Network, 01 Jan 2002)

"Not to let the highs get too high or the lows get too low." (worldrowing.com, 03 Jun 2008)

Awards
In 2011 at the inaugural Golden Oars Awards [organised by USRowing and the National Rowing Foundation] she was named National Team Rower of the Year. (worldrowing.com, 02 Dec 2011)

She was honoured at the Seattle Star of the Year awards in 2009 for helping the US team to Olympic gold in 2008. (seattlepi.com, 20 Jan 2009)

Her Beijing Olympic Games gold medal winning team were named 2008 World Rowing Female Crew of the Year by FISA. (usrowing.org, 2011)

She was named Most Outstanding Woman for the California State University Capital Crew in 1998. (US Rowing, 02 Oct 2003)

General
FINAL OLYMPICS
Since 1994 she has coxed women's eights to two NCAA Division I titles, three world championship titles, six World Cup wins, and Olympic silver and gold medals. After taking a year off from the sport in 2009 to earn a masters degree in education, she has set her sights on competing at a final Olympic Games in London in 2012. Of the Olympic course at Eton-Dorney she says "In 2006 we won and set the world's best time. So we have some good mojo at that course and we're excited to get back on it." (rowing.teamusa.org, 27 Jul 2010; gohuskies.com, 21 Nov 2011)

COACHING AMBITIONS
"I'm excited to say that 2012 is my last Olympic cycle. There's a lot of stuff on my bucket list that I want to get done, besides sitting in a boat. I'm getting married, and then I really want to create a summer camp specific to coxswains.The main goal is that when coxswains come, I want to teach them to row, teach them to be more athletic, I want them to be better leaders. For experienced coxswains I want to have clinics, round table discussions about how to use phrases better, how to layout a race plan, how to self-regulate and become a better coxswain. It's going to be exciting." (gohuskies.com, 21 Nov 2011)

E-COACH
Along with Marcus McElhenney she has produced several podcast on the subject of coxing called Shooting It Straight. The pair aim to give advice and guidance to any potential coxswains while answering any questions listeners have. She has also launched her own website, the 9th Seat, that offers one-to-one coaching advice and details her own experiences. (worldrowing.com, 22 Jun 2008, 9thseat.com, 31 Jan 2011)

FAMILY SUPPORT
Her parents Meg and Al [who is a physiotherapist] have travelled to every one of her international races to watch her compete and are fond of camping at international events. (teamusa.org, 29 Aug 2008)

LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP
Since they first competed together in 1998 Whipple and rower Anna Mickleson had been a consistent partnership in the US rowing camps. In 2008 Mickleson had never competed without Whipple and describes the cox as having a split personality. "When you're just with her as a friend and just hanging out, she wouldn't hurt a mouse. [But] when she gets in that cox seat and she is a racer. She gets all red, she starts yelling, and you're like, 'I am not going to mess with her.'" When Mickleson retired after the Beijing Olympic Games Whipple said "I'm going to miss her. I don't race without her. When she's in her [seat], you definitely know. We know we're complete." (Seattle Times, 07 Aug 2008)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004