--- title: Rio 2016 Olympics: US Women's Eight Rowing Gold Favorites description: The U.S. women’s eight rowers have won every world championship and Olympic gold since 2006 canonical: https://time.com/4450751/rio-2016-olympics-rowing-us-womens-eights-gold/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-12T19:33:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:42:41.737Z article:section: Sports og:title: Rio 2016 Olympics: US Women's Eight Rowing Gold Favorites og:description: The U.S. women’s eight rowers have won every Olympic gold since 2006 og:url: https://time.com/4450751/rio-2016-olympics-rowing-us-womens-eights-gold/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01ab747d953c0bbf/6988a2388e06018502467217/usa-rowing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Rowing - Olympics: Day 3 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rio 2016 Olympics: US Women's Eight Rowing Gold Favorites twitter:description: The U.S. women’s eight rowers have won every Olympic gold since 2006 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01ab747d953c0bbf/6988a2388e06018502467217/usa-rowing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meet the Most Dominant Olympic Team You've Never Heard Of > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Meet The Coxswain Turning Tragedy Into Triumph For Team USA In Rio [Watch (HLS stream): Meet The Coxswain Turning Tragedy Into Triumph For Team USA In Rio](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/y9KIoZX6.m3u8) (4:17)  _Published 2016-07-08. It’s the most dominant American team you’ve likely never heard of: the U.S. women’s eight rowing squad, which has won every world title and Olympic gold medal since 2006. In Rio, a new coxswain takes over Olympic duties._  by [Sean Gregory / Rio de Janeiro](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory / Rio de Janeiro Senior Correspondent Aug 12, 2016 7:33 PM UTC  by [Sean Gregory / Rio de Janeiro](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory / Rio de Janeiro Senior Correspondent Aug 12, 2016 7:33 PM UTC [Michael Phelps](http://time.com/4449636/michael-phelps-rio-2016-olympics-gold-medals-lochte/), [Katie Ledecky](http://time.com/4299717/katie-ledecky-2016-time-100/) and America’s [spectacular swimming team](http://time.com/4449687/simone-manuel-gold-rio-2016-olympics-swimming/) aren’t the only U.S. athletes motoring through water in [Rio](http://time.com/topic/2016-rio-olympics/). On Saturday, the women’s eights rowing team are the heavy favorite to bring home gold when they race shortly before 8 a.m. ET. Why wake-up early on a Saturday to watch people row a boat across a polluted lagoon? Because the U.S. women’s eight may well be the [most dominant Olympic team](http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/22/olympics-rio-2016-us-rowing-womens-eight) you’ve never heard of. Thanks to a deep talent pool cultivated in the collegiate ranks, the U.S. women’s eight have won every world championship and [Olympic](http://time.com/topic/2016-rio-olympics/) gold since 2006\. That’s ten consecutive titles. According to [nbcolympics.com](http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/top-rowing-stories-watch-rio), only one other national team, in any sport, owns a comparable record: the Cold War-era Soviet hockey team, which won 14 consecutive world championships from 1963-1976\. The roots of the women’s eights success trace to Title IX, the legislation passed in 1972 that requires schools to offer equal sports opportunities for men and women. Rowing became a popular way for colleges and universities to offset large rosters in men’s sports like football. **(MORE:**[ **Meet the U.S. Coxswain Looking to Turn Tragedy Into Triumph For The Olympics)**](http://time.com/4398390/rio-olympics-rowing-team-usa-coxswain/) This year’s eight includes only two members of the gold-medal winning team in London: Meghan Musnicki, 33, who rowed at Ithaca College in upstate New York, and Elle Logan, a Stanford alum. Other Americans in the boat: Amanda Elmore, 25 (Michigan), Amanda Polk, 30 (Notre Dame), Tessa Gobbo, 25 (Brown), Kerry Simmonds, 27 (Washington), Emily Regan, 28 (Michigan State), Lauren Schmetterling, 28 (Colgate) and the coxswain, [Katelin Synder,](http://time.com/4398390/rio-olympics-rowing-team-usa-coxswain/) 28 (Washington). If you’re, counting, yes, that’s nine people in the boat. But only eight are pulling during the race. “We push each other every day,” says Musnicki. “There’s no room for complacency on our team.” The Americans are clicking right now. They finished with the top time (6 minutes and 6.34 seconds) in heats. When the team’s in sync and moving fast, Musnicki says, “it’s an indescribable feeling. You can feel the energy of the other women on the boat. It feels like the boat’s on top of the water.” The effort over 2000 meters, she says, “is very hard, very painful. But you’re going fast, it’s easy to go hard.” **(MORE:** [**The Must-Watch Track and Field Events in Rio**](http://time.com/4434475/rio-2016-olympics-track-athletics-schedule-bolt-what-to-watch/)**)** The U.S. must stay in front of boats like Great Britain, whose heat time trailed the U.S. by about three seconds, and New Zealand, who finished third in the qualifying. “We’re nervous,” says Musnicki tells TIME on the eve of her race. “But it’s a good nervous.” Might an eleventh straight world title finally bring the rowers some recognition? “Maybe,” says Musnicki. Winning for each other, however, is more than good enough. “At this point, we have a narrow focus,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says or doesn’t say around us. It’s all about what the nine of us can do in a boat.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I'm in a really special position where I get to be a part of everyone's successes and everyone's failures. I don't think I'm really there to tell everyone, you're not trying hard enough. They're doing all the hard work. My role is to just guide people in the right direction. [ MUSIC ] I started rowing in high school. My dad said, you can't do that, because it's way too hard. So of course I was like, now I'm [ LAUGH ] definitely signing up for rowing now. Our team was really short on Coxins and so I was asked to hop over. I was a little small for a rower so I worked out really well. The coxin is calling the race plan and trying to get everyone on the same page so that we will be As effective as possible. Let go if the boats comes underneath Even if I feel a little anxiety about boats are coming at me, I have to do a really good job of Keeping that anxiety out of my voice because I don't want to detract from anything that anyone else is trying to accomplish. One stroke at a time. I won three national championships with the University of Washington. And I was exceptionally lucky to step into that program at a time where they were really building momentum and getting to be a part of that really helped Shaped me as a leader. Being on the team with some of my best friends is really cool because I learned so much from them. They've created the kind of coxswain that I am. The most challenging moment for me was just getting cut from the senior national team in 2010. I had been really fortunate to be successful up until that point and dealing with not accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish was really hard and challenging. But it ended up being the best thing that could have happened for me. And up. I kind of decided that I needed to take a step back and go do something else. I coached rowing for two years, and then after the 2012 olympics, I was lucky enough to be able to come back, and I made it in 2013 . >> And go. Having missed out in 2012, gives me an incredible, Appreciation for everything that's happened this cycle. [ MUSIC ] If I had been able to make the team right out of college, I'm not sure that I would have been fully able to appreciate the sacrifice and the work that goes into it. [ MUSIC ] I think I changed a lot when my brother passed away. He was a really really nice person. Probably like one of the most helpful people I've ever met, and I've really tried to take some of that into my own life. Being able to bring that to the team I think has been helpful for me and my sanity, [ LAUGH ] and also for my teammates. She has always been good in the race. But I think outside of the race she's gotten much better. She is becoming a little more aware that she's responsible for these kids even when they are not rowing and I think the athletes look up to her quite a bit. She will always listen to you. If you are stressed out or having a good day or a bad day she is someone you can go and talk to and know that she is actually listening to you and she hears what you are saying, that is part of what makes her a great Coxin and also part of what makes her a really great friend. [ MUSIC ] USA Heading for the gold. The women's eight has won the World Championships or the Olympics every year since 2006. There's definitely pressure when it comes to wanting to win and don't want to be in the boat that ends the streak. But I think for us we're really good at just being here and now. [ MUSIC ] For me, being in it and winning would be amazing, but seeing my teammates win, I think would be the best. [ MUSIC ] Just seeing how they've come, just imagining them winning gold medals, to me that's like the Mecca. 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