Sara Hendershot was born on 27th April 1988. She is an American rower from West Simsbury, CT, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Sara played soccer and swimming in high school, but began rowing full-time in college at Princeton University. She was named a Division I First-Team All-American her junior and senior years of college. Sara won the gold medal in the women’s eight at the 2010 World Rowing U23 Championships. She also won gold in the four at the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Sara qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics after winning the women’s pair with Sarah Zelenka at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. On July 28, 2012 Sara qualified for the Olympic finals after recording a time of 6:59.29 in the preliminaries. In the finals, Sara came in fourth with a time of 7:30.39.
She also won the eight and four at the 2005 CanAmMex Regatta, Placed sixth in the pair at the 2012 National Selection Regatta #2. Sara was named a DI First-Team All-American in 2009 and 2010 and was named DI First-Team All-Region from 2008-10. She also won silver in the eight at the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup. As per Teamusa.org website Sara’s favourite television shows are 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, and Sons of Anarchy. She has a lucky pair of green socks that she wears for any important race or erg test
Sara Hendershot, an Olympian and Gold medalist World Rowing Championships in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness
Full interview on Next Page!
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All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness
Namita: To begin with, how did rowing come to fascinate you as a sport. Was it an attraction of some kind or else fascination towards speeding in water?
Sara: I was introduced to rowing when I was 14 as a freshman in high school. I had always been a swimmer, so I already had a connection with the water, but what mostly drew me to the sport was how different it was than anything else I had ever done. I had no idea what any of the equipment was used for or what any of the terminology meant, and I loved the idea of a sport that depended so heavily on teamwork.
Namita: Every sport requires a regular fitness regime. What’s your daily fitness routine? How long do you exercise and some specific exercises you would like to suggest. What do you do to reduce monotony?
Sara: When we are in the thick of training, we train three times a day, six days a week, for a total of about 30-40 hours a week. It truly is a full time job and there is little time in the day for anything besides rowing, eating, and recovering. On a typical day, the team would row for two hours in the morning, have about an hour break before we lift weights, and then return in the afternoon for a long session on the rowing machine (ergometer). It definitely can get monotonous, but when your focus is on the quality of every stroke, it becomes a fun challenge to see how efficiently you can move the boat through the water.
Namita: Do you follow a regular diet regime? Or is there a specific diet pattern advised by coach or trainers. Foods you like or dislike.
Sara: Many people assume that because we train as a team that we also live as a team. In reality, we live as independent adults making our own decisions outside of practice.
Each athlete chooses where they want to live and how they want to eat, so you could technically eat terribly and go out partying every night if you wanted to. Our team is so competitive though, that there is no room for error like that, so everyone is pretty health conscious. Recently I have been experimenting with my diet to see what helps me to perform and recover the best, and right now I’m following a modified version of the Paleo diet. I’ve seen a huge difference in how I feel. The hardest thing for me to give up has been cookies!
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Namita: How does it really feel after a victory? What comes to your mind and whom would you like to thank for your success.
Sara: Victory feels like a shot of invincibility. Before you can fully catch your breath, your mind creates a highlight reel of every obstacle you’ve faced and each moment you wanted to quit, only to prove that it was all worth it. Your body is at its deepest point of exhaustion, yet you are overcome by an incredible burst of energy and certainty.
I could never have become an Olympian without my fiance and my family. My fiance was my emotional rock through all of my highs, lows, and many moments of doubt. He helped me to stay functioning when I didn’t have the energy for anything outside of practice, and he was willing to listen to me talk about rowing far more than I’m sure he liked.
My family is who pushed me to row in the first place, and who supported me when I turned down a full-time, lucrative job and decided to go for my Olympic dream instead. I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support.
Namita: Do you believe ‘Luck’ has a role to play in success?
Sara: I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe in good timing. When you allow yourself to be controlled by the idea of luck, you essentially hand over your fate to an uncontrollable force. There is always more you can do as an athlete, and then you have to be ready when the opportunity to achieve success presents itself.
Namita: What is your advice for girls who wish to make rowing as a career and select it as their choice of sport?
Sara: Rowing is a sport that will reward you for honest hard work. It is not a sport for the weak minded or the lazy, and it will test your mental strength and toughness on a daily basis. However, rowing is one of the few sports where hard work can truly overpower natural talent. You can take this sport as far as you want to if you are willing to put in the effort and time. Plus, the feeling of an in-sync boat lifting out of the water as you hit top speed is completely intoxicating and addicting.
More information on Sara Hendershot visit her blog at http://sarahendershot.wordpress.com
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness