Vic’s Voice: Emily’s Qualification Quest

Training alongside Emily as she prepares for this once in a lifetime opportunity has been such a great experience.

I’ve always looked up to Emily. When I was a freshman, she made it a point to go out of her way to be friendly to me and the other novices and made us feel welcome. She was also my varsity roommate in Georgia during spring break, where we had many conversations about seat racing and what spring season would be like. Since day one, I have been proud to work alongside her and be on the same team.

On top of being a great teammate, Emily is an exceptionally strong athlete. Sitting next to her during workouts and pieces, I’ve seen firsthand how determined and focused she is while on the erg. For one of our recent workouts, I stroked for Emily on sliders, which was a little nerve-wracking, but it definitely made me more aware of my technique. I’m almost a whole foot shorter than Emily, so I focused a lot on my slide ratio and keeping the recovery long. I even noticed a drop in my average split because I was trying so hard to make the piece the best it could be for her.

During the past few weeks of winter training, whenever I get tired during an erg workout or run, my mind goes straight to Emily and how hard she’s been working and training these past few months. Even when she gets tired in the middle of our workouts, that never stops her from shouting out words of encouragement to everyone around her. Emily’s journey has motivated me to work harder, not only for myself, but also for her and the rest of the team.

This amazing opportunity has definitely brought the team closer together and has us all working that much harder to be the best we can be.

Emily, I’m so excited and feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this journey with you. There is no one I can think of who deserves this more. We’re all rooting for you and can’t wait to see you cross that finish line in Chile!

~ Victoria Demiris