MEGAN DIRKMAAT

Women’s Four

Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

Current Residence: Princeton, N.J.

Club Affiliation: Princeton Training Center

Began Rowing: Los Gatos Rowing Club, 1993

Date of Birth: 5/3/76

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 175

High School: Lincoln High School

Undergraduate Education: University of California at Berkeley, 2000

Graduate Education: University of Washington, 2007

Current Coach: Tom Terhaar

International Results: Won gold in the four at the 2007 FISA World Championships...Finished fourth in the eight at the 2006 FISA World Championships...Won bronze in the eight at the 2005 BearingPoint World Cup stop in Munich...Won a silver medal in the eight at the 2004 Olympic Games...Set a world record in the eight during the heats of the 2004 Olympic Games...Won a gold medal in the eight at the 2004 BearingPoint World Cup stop in Lucerne...Won a gold medal in the eight at the 2004 BearingPoint World Cup stop in Munich...Finished fifth in the eight at the 2003 FISA World Championships...Won a gold medal in the eight at the 2003 BearingPoint World Cup stop in Munich and finished eighth in the pair at the stop in Milan...Finished 12th in the pair at the 2002 FISA World Championships...Finished fifth in the pair at the 2002 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne...Finished fourth in the eight at the 2001 FISA World Championships...Raced at the 1999 Henley Royal Regatta in the women’s eight...Raced in the eight at the 1999 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne.

National Results: Won the pair at the second 2005 National Selection Regatta...Won the pair at the 2002 National Selection Regatta...Won the gold medal in the eight at the 2001 USRowing National Championships...Finished second in the pair at the 2000 USRowing National Championships...Finished fourth in the eight at the 1998 USRowing National Championships.

Personal: Megan is a six-time national team member...Megan was part of the Olympic women’s eight that set a world record in the heat and won a silver medal in the final in Athens, Greece...In the second grade, she had the opportunity to play the role of a pine tree in her school play, displaying great fortitude and mastery of the performing arts...Megan says one of her hardest, yet most rewarding challenges so far in life, was teaching the fourth grade at Castlemont Elementary School in California...While rowing at Cal (Go Bears!), she received the Bettina Bents Award for loyalty, proficiency, and spirit...She lists her personal heroes as her parents and her grandmother, D’mom, for their great example and endless support...Her favorite television show is Grey’s Anatomy...Megan says she has a huge weakness for chocolate milk...She recently received a master’s degree in sports management through the University of Washington...Megan also recently got engaged and will be getting married in the fall of 2007.

(updated 11/6/2007)