By Celeste Katz Marston — Celeste@concordbridge.org
A Concord family’s excitement built in the days and hours ahead of the Olympics women’s eight rowing competition as Margaret Hedeman put her brawn and determination to the test.
Hedeman, a graduate of Concord-Carlisle High School and Yale, has tasted success in the eight before — she captured silver at the 2023 World Championships and the gold at the 2022 World Under-23 Championships.
The Olympics, of course, are a world of their own, as some Concordians can attest — and her parents, Rick and Rena Hedeman, have been collating the details in a series of email updates.
Here’s a glimpse into some of the highlights they’ve shared:
Thursday, 11:57 a.m.: “OK, so that was quite an exciting day! Women’s 8+ won the repechage and are going to the final, Women’s 4 came in 5th (best finish since 1992) and the Men’s 4 won Gold! The US Men haven’t won gold in 20 years and haven’t won the 4 since 1960! Keep in mind, the US (men and women) won no medals in Tokyo…
“It was another packed day at the racing venue…
“Lots of international fans from all over the world. We found ourselves making friends with other countries and rooting for their boats (so long as they weren’t rowing against the US) and they would root for ours. Very collegial and fun!
“The race was exciting — the U.S. started out in the third spot behind Canada and Australia and then worked their way through both of those boats to win the race. The comment we got from Margaret (which we never get regarding races) was that it was painful! I guess if it’s going to be painful anywhere it might as well be at the Olympics!
“We had a chance to see Margaret briefly after her race — she looked very tired but very happy and we got a few hugs!”
Hedeman, her parents report, had flown with her team from Milan to Paris on July 22 and promptly got settled in the Olympic Village — with bed frames made of cardboard (!) — and were of course outfitted in their custom Ralph Lauren outfits for the various ceremonies, although “the rowing team decided not to walk because [they] some have races [the following day] and it might impact their performance.”
The Hedeman family made it to Paris after a flight cancellation.
Friday, 5:34 p.m.: “It seems like it’s been forever and the blink of an eye but we are on the eve of the final day of rowing here in Paris… Lots of good vibes here in Paris overall. The Women’s 8 rows tomorrow at 4:50 AM ET in the final. The women’s 8+ got 4th in Tokyo and they would love to see a medal this year 🤞…
“One of the biggest fun surprises was running into Billie Jean King and her wife walking into The USA House as we left. We had a quick chat and she wished Margaret good luck tomorrow (she had been at the rowing venue today)…
“Very cool to meet someone I have so much respect and admiration for…
“Go USA!”
The women’s eight final was scheduled to begin at approximately 4:50 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
Update: Team USA’s women’s eight finished in fifth, per US Rowing:
Update: On Sunday, Rick Hedeman followed up with more thoughts on the Olympic experience.
“Final thoughts on Paris…
“Well, that race didn’t go as hoped. It’s a fine balance between power, length and stroke rating, and the optimal balance seemed to elude the US Women’s 8+ on Saturday. In the end, the U.S. Women’s 8+ came in fifth overall.
Image courtesy of row2k.com
“It was a fantastic day, the stands were packed, and we saw many more of Margaret’s former teammates, classmates and friends from all over the world. There was a sizable group from Yale there to support her and other Yalies. The energy of the crowd was fantastic, and they even had us singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ out at the rowing venue (like we had heard at the beach volleyball venue next to the Eiffel Tower). The beach volleyball fans won out on the singing, I think…
“Not a lot to report on the actual race — the Romanians, GB and Canada all performed extremely well, as expected. The U.S. was unable to hold off the Aussies toward the end and came in fifth ahead of Italy. The rowers were very disappointed, but to look at the positive side, their race time was 06:01.73, just 0.24 seconds short of Team USA’s fastest Olympic time in history…
“On Saturday night we were able to have a big family group dinner that included Margaret. I think it was nice for her to spend time with people who see her as just the old Margaret they’ve known and loved forever. Lots of processing and reflection to be done over the next few months.
“This has been an amazing experience for Margaret, no doubt, but also a gift to our family. It’s gone by very quickly but we will have memories to cherish for the rest of our lives.
“The support we’ve received from family and friends has been uplifting — it was amazing to hear how many of you got up in the wee hours of the morning to follow and cheer the team on (not to mention all the people who came to Paris to cheer in person)! We are thankful to all of your encouraging, enthusiastic support!
“Life is a journey, so might as well enjoy the ride!”
