Tokyo Olympics

Men's Eight Rowing Rooted in the Bay Area

NBC Universal, Inc.

There are so many Bay Area connections in the summer Olympic games. Believe it or not, men's eight rowing is deeply rooted here with two men from Cal leading the way. 

“They’re going to be nervous, they’re going to be anticipating the race, anticipating the pain that comes along with the race,” said Caroline Lind, who was part of the 2008 and 2012 women’s rowing team when they won gold.

She lives in the Bay Area now with her husband Brandon who happens to be an assistant rowing coach at Cal.

“They do it because they love it. They're competitive and they will do anything to maintain a certain level,” she said.

The Bay Area connection for members of the men’s eight is rooted in Oakland where they all trained starting in 2017.

The rower giving the commands is Julian Venonsky who is a Cal bear.  Their Olympic coach Mike Teti is also from Berkeley.

“My heart is beating hard thinking about the race tomorrow. This is what they’ve practiced five years for,” said Beth Covin, the team’s host mom.

“They’ve done the work, all they have to do is get to the starting line and have the best race of their life,” said _________.

Fingers are crossed for Thursday’s race.  

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