No one expected Evan Olson to make it to the Olympics, including his former teammate and current coach of men’s rowing at WJ, Robert Karlen. When Karlen reached out to his friend Olson earlier this year to see if he would meet the rowers and tell his inspiring story, Olson agreed. The team met with the Olympian at Davis Library on Nov. 25.
Evan Olson grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington. Unlike other sports, starting early in life is not necessary to go far in rowing. Olson only started rowing in the middle of junior year after reading the acclaimed book and now movie, The Boys in the Boat. He joined his local rowing team with the goal of rowing for the same school as the book’s protagonist, the University of Washington.
Many thought this was impossible. The University of Washington has arguably the most competitive rowing program in the country with their men’s and women’s team placing top five at the international Head of the Charles regatta. Despite the fact he had only rowed a little over a year, Olson was recruited.
“It’s not a secret. Getting there is not a secret. [You] just have to be consistent and you have to keep going. At the end of my novice season, I was still terrible at rowing,” Olson said.
Olson pushed himself in the ambitious and difficult program. Within two years, he had won two National championships and bronze at the under 23 World Championships.
“I was hyper-competitive in college…I was on a really good trajectory,” Olson said. “I probably could have been in the 1V [varsity], but I lost my why. I didn’t know why I was there. I had nothing to prove anymore.”
Olson also discussed how to stay motivated in such a challenging sport with the rowers.
“He knows how to fail and he has that mental strength. That was really inspiring for me,” senior captain Marriane Carr said.
Olson never made it to the 1V. But he rekindled his passion by rowing with the freshmen and sophomore novices. Helping them succeed was gratifying and helped him stay consistent. After graduating and taking some time off, Olson flew to England to row for Oxford Brookes University.
“It was the best year of rowing I’ve ever had in my entire life. It really made me fall in love with the sport again,” Olson said.
Before the 2023 World Championships, the qualifiers for the Olympics, Olson reached out to Billy Bender to see if he wanted to row as a pair. After a summer of training, the pair placed fifth, and Olson was invited to tryouts for the Olympics men’s eight.
“It’s a sport where your results are directly related to how hard you work and the energy that you bring to practice,” Olson said.
He earned his spot in the boat rowing seven seat and won bronze at the Paris Olympics. Olson brought his medal to the meeting, and rowers got to wear it while taking pictures.
“I was very happy that I got this opportunity in the first place. Meeting an Olympian is not something you get to do every day,” sophomore coxswain Yohan Yun said.
Olson is now coaching the women’s team at the University of Columbia and hopes to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He ended the conversation with a meaningful question for the athletes.
“I love rowing. This is the best thing in my entire life, but you have a purpose and you have to have a why,” Olson said. “Why am I here? What do I want to achieve? Where do I want to take rowing? That’s how you find your purpose.”
