Lofgren rowing for gold

Even though Esther Lofgren had a good body for rowing, she did not want to row.

Even though both of her parents, Christine and Karl, were rowers, she didn’t want to row. Actually, that fact made her less interested in rowing.

“I didn’t want to do what my parents did,” said Lofgren. “Plus, I was playing volleyball at the time [at Newport Harbor High]. I was being recruited by colleges.”

It wasn’t until a friend of hers, Drew Curie, talked her into speaking with a Newport Aquatic Center coach that Lofgren gave it a shot.

“It was the first non-ball sport I ever tried,” said Lofgren, who played volleyball, basketball and badminton during high school and competed in AYSO soccer for 11 years as a youth. “It’s a repetitive sport. It took some getting used to. But I really liked the people and I’m competitive by nature.”

Lofgren started rowing in 1998, but says she didn’t really start to focus on the sport until 2000.

She competed for NAC Coach and Rowing Director Christy Shaver.

“Esther is an inspiration both as athlete and person,” Shaver said. “She is dedicated and passionate. She brought much success to the NAC as a junior athlete, playing a large role in our first berth to Nationals in the Girls Youth eight.”

“It’s a really competitive program,” said Lofgren, who was NAC’s MVP in 2003. “There’s a real solid group of people behind it. She’s a high-caliber coach. She cares a lot.”

Lofgren said her parents rowed competitively in college and tried out for the national team in the 1980s, but didn’t make it.

“I think I have a lot of natural advantages,” Lofgren said. “I’m 6-foot-2 and my parents are both rowers, so I have good genes. Plus I’m really competitive. It’s hard for me to get satisfied. I’m driven and competitive but I really enjoy the sport now.”

Lofgren’s drive has helped her excel both academically and athletically. She earned full scholarship offers to multiple schools, including Washington, Texas and Notre Dame. She was accepted for early admission at Harvard, Cal and Cornell before choosing Harvard, where she recently switched from a mechanical engineering major to an economics major.

And she recently helped lead the U.S. women’s eight to the 2006 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Hazewinkel, Belgium, July 24-27.

Rowers must be in perfect step with each other. A team on the same page can provide the difference between a fast, smooth ride and a slower, choppy ride.

Women’s eight boats include eight rowers, with a coxswain, all sharing one oar. Lofgren sat in the sixth seat of the women’s eight, helping her team win the four-day event by registering an overall time of 6 hours, 6.68 minutes to cruise to a 2.3-second win on the final day. The U.S. held off a late-charging Belarus squad, which took the silver. “It was an amazing experience because it was such a high caliber of competition,” Lofgren said. “Just being there was an awesome experience. This was a great group of girls from colleges all over the country. There was a lot of really good athletes.”

What were the keys to the victory for the U.S.?

“Our strength was our strength,” Lofgren said. “We were confident that we were the fastest team out there.”

It marked the first time she rowed internationally except for in Canada.

Lofgren, who expects to graduate from Harvard in 2008, hopes many more international competitions are ahead of her, including the Olympics.

She took a step in the right direction by winning in Belgium. The U.S. women’s senior team coach took notice.

“The senior team coach asked me and one other girl to try out for the Senior World Championships in England,” Lofgren said. “He just said he liked the way we rowed. I have a shot to contribute. Even if I don’t make it, that’s my eventual goal.”

Lofgren wants to compete for the national team in the Olympics at least once for a sweep event (everyone in the boat rowing with the same oar) and once for a sculling event (rowing with two oars).

“If I don’t get injured, I feel I can be competitive for a long time,” Lofgren said. “For another eight or nine years. I’d like to compete in eights and fours. But I’m not good enough at skulling yet.”

Lofgren gives herself a boost the night before a race by painting her toenails gold. She started doing it this spring.

“I guess it’s just putting out there what everyone who races hopes for,” Lofgren said. “That at the end of the race you’ll have some hardware to match Â… I like to do it just as a commitment to what can be accomplished by focusing 100% and pulling hard.”