Mary Whipple is a four-time senior national team member and coxed the women’s eight to a gold medal at the 2002 FISA World Championships in Seville, Spain, and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. The Sacramento, Calif., native won back-to-back national championships with the University of Washington in the women’s varsity eight at the 2001 and 2002 NCAA Championships. She began coxing in 1994 with Capital Crew and was a member of the 1998 Junior National Team.

How did you become involved with coxing?

When I was a freshman in high school, my sister and I decided to join the club high school team, Capital Crew, to row. We quickly learned that we were too small to row and since our coach described the category of coxswain falls right below coach, and then followed by athlete in hierarchy at Capital Crew, we were sold.

What drew you to the University of Washington?

The fact that it was a West Coast school and because Seattle is such an amazing city. I must admit that I was a little naive about how good UW was and how significant being a part of that program was to my development of becoming a national team coxswain.

When did you realize you wanted to continue coxing at the elite level after college? What drew you to that challenge?

The first goal I gave myself was to make the varsity boat at UW, because if I couldn't make the varsity boat at my school, then I didn’t consider the national team an option. I made the varsity eight in 2000, so I set my sights on 2001. The fact that there was only one coxed event for women drew me to the challenge of trying to be that coxswain.

Talk a little about your junior national team experience. What was that like and how did it influence your rowing career?

Doing the junior national team got me ready to face collegiate rowing. I had no clue of what I was getting myself into when I went to the selection camp. What I got out of the experience was how to come into a situation where you don’t know anyone and prove to these mere acquaintances that you are dedicated to making boats go fast no matter what boat you are in.

Describe the typical training day for an Olympic hopeful at the training center.

We have three practices a day. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have two rows in the morning that are separated by an hour or so, then we lift weights around 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, we row three times a day, but the afternoon row is a technique row that lasts 45 minutes. In between lunch and our 4 p.m. practice, the rowers rest and usually send out a couple of e-mails to family and friends, but mostly rest.

As a coxswain, what is your role on a day-to-day basis at the training center?

The girls are rowing a lot of small boats right now, so I ride in the launch and watch. I have started to take a lot of video of their workouts, and during time trial pieces, I take splits at the half-way mark and stroke rates.

Your sister also coxed in college and the two of you won NCAA titles your senior year. What was it like to share that experience with your sister?

I think my parents enjoyed it more than we did. It was fun to get to know her crew over the years and my teammates also became friends with her and her teammates, so we had another boat to cheer for and watch during the regatta. I consider Sarah a great coxswain and competitor and the fact that we both got to win our respected events made it o.k. that we went to different schools but got to experience the same thing in a way.

What do you like to do outside of rowing?

I would like to go into event planning for a Ski resort or something that will allow me to live near the mountains.

What advice would you give a younger college athlete or a high school rower/coxswain with national team aspirations?

I would tell them to be open to making changes and for a coxswain, I would tell them to listen, look, and be prepared to think and plan ahead.

(This interview was conducted in March, 2004.)