Newsmaker

Every Friday, we choose an alum who has been making headlines—for better or for worse.
Ico print Print | Ico email Email | Facebook | | RSS

9/9/11: Taylor Ritzel ’10 & Jamie Redman ’08

By the staff | 1:36pm January 03 2012

At 6'2" and 185 pounds, Taylor Ritzel ’10 is one powerful woman. But it is her seat on a boatful of eight powerful women—the USA Women’s Eight, to be precise—that earns our interest this week. With Jamie Redman ’08, Ritzel rowed her way to a spot as Yalie of the Week.

Together, the former Yale teammates are one-quarter of the crew that captured a gold medal in the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, on September 2.

It was the sixth consecutive gold for the USA women, and the second straight in which Ritzel participated. In contrast to last year, when the American rowed to “an emphatic 3.7-second victory over Canada,” this year’s “much anticipated battle” between the US and Canada “featured one of the most competitive fields to date,” Rowing News reports.

As for the notion that world champions are born, not made—or at least have to start training before they’re big enough to lift a racket or an oar—Ritzel notes in a e-mail that she and Redman “actually both started rowing at Yale, so a lot of credit is due to Will Porter, the head women’s crew coach there.”

Filed under alumnae
The comment period has expired.