Olympic Gold Medalist shares her story with young Lake Stevens rowers

BY PAM STEVENS | EDITOR You can be anything you put your mind to The rowing community in Lake Stevens seems to be growing at a quick pace and the love of the sport is deeply embedded inside the rowers of the Lake Stevens Rowing Club.

Last Saturday, rowers from the LSRC received a special gift – a visit from Gold Medalist rower, Anna Cummins and her World Champion husband, rower Bob Cummins, Jr.

Both of the Cummins’ have a passion for the sport of rowing and want to give back to the younger generation of rowers. They chose Lake Stevens Rowing Club because Cummins’ parents, Bob Sr. and his wife Barb, started the club back in 2003.

“They (Anna and Bob, Jr.) wanted to get back into the rowing community so they asked if they could get involved in the club, of course we said, ‘Oh yea,’” Jon Brady, President of the Lake Stevens Rowing Club said.
Anna wanted to share her rowing story with the teens in hopes that they would find similarities between her journey and their own.

“I really want to inspire them by sharing the Olympic story and my husband’s and my story of how we got into rowing,” Anna said. “We probably all have similar stories.”

Anna didn’t start rowing until she was a freshman in college and had to work hard to gain the respect of the other rowers on her team. Cummins won a silver medal in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and a Gold in Beijing last year.

Bob Jr. started at the age of 12 but hated the sport for the first few years. He later became a 1997 World Champion. Because of dedication, they both went on to become champions within the rowing community.

“We want them to know that they can do anything they set their mind too,” Anna said.

“Just work hard and keep on being persistent and then go for it,” Bob Jr. told the kids.

After talking to the rowers, Bob Jr., a Chiropractor from Bellevue, screened each of the rowers to let them know where their strengths and weaknesses were while Anna taught them ways to warm-up without causing injury.
Mostly, the couple wanted to let the team know that they have an unlimited amount of potential.

“Everyone has the potential to dream big,” Anna said.

Both Bob Jr. and Anna are now members of the Lake Stevens Rowing Club’s Board of Directors.

If you would like more information on the LSRC you can visit their website at www.lakestevensrowing.com.

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