By Rodrigo Feijao
University at Buffalo
Before she became a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Meghan Musnicki had never even heard of rowing.
Known affectionately as “Moose,” the now 42-year-old Naples native is one of the most accomplished rowers in American history. Having competed in four Olympic games, Musnicki won gold medals in London (2012) and Rio (2016) along with five world champions.
After discovering rowing through a college coach in her freshman year at St. Lawrence University, she did away with her original plans to play basketball for the school; believing that it would be worthwhile to try something new and to fulfill her preference for the camaraderie of team sports. She would later transfer to Ithaca College where she honed her rowing abilities and helped the Bombers to back-to-back national championships.
She graduated with a degree in psychology in 2005 and competed at that year’s CRASH-B Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships. It was there that she was noticed by national coach Laurel Korholz and was advised to attend a rowing camp.
“I had no idea what elite level rowing was at that point, like zero knowledge of it,” Musnicki said in a 2023 interview. “I went down to this camp and was immediately cut.”
Musnicki would try again in 2008 and came up short of the national team for the second time but was still invited by Head coach Tom Terhaar to train in Princeton. It was there that she began to find her stride which led to her being named to the women’s rowing 8 and becoming a regular inclusion for them.
Alongside her national teammates, she would go on to defeat Canada in the 2010 World Rowing Championship finals in her world championship debut. Musnicki would then earn four more world titles before taking a break in 2016, only to return in 2021, placing 4th at the Tokyo Games before stepping away from competitive rowing to focus on her personal life.
Even during her sabbatical, Musnicki’s competitive fire was never fully extinguished. The very next year saw her step out of retirement and continue her dominance in international tournaments, winning the Henley Royal Regatta in England alongside friend Jess Morrison, and eyeing qualification for the 2024 games in Paris.
Following a successful qualification campaign, Musnicki would make her final Olympic Games appearance, finishing fifth in the women’s eight. Though she didn’t leave with a medal, her impact was undeniable. She was named the 2024 US Rowing Carie Graves Female Athlete of the Year and became the oldest woman to row at the Olympic level: a fitting final chapter in a career defined by resilience, longevity, and triumph.
Rodrigo Feijao is an intern for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, focusing on sports-related stories and local music. He can be found on Instagram @rfeijao_777 and can be reached at RFeijao@gannett.com.
