This morning in Windsor, England, the United States' women's eight rowing team held off Canada to win the gold medal by a half-length. The victory helped the Americans successfully defend the Olympic title they won in Beijing in 2008.
We were particularly thrilled with the result as Huffington Post blogger Esther Lofgren represented the United States in the race. Last night, Lofgren wrote a blog about her excitement and anticipation in which she stated:
I remember watching the opening ceremonies four years ago from a TV at my friend's house in Berkeley, excited to see what promised to be the most incredible Olympics yet, but so incredibly devastated at falling short of making it there.
The last four years have been a fight to be the best rower I can be, to push myself past what others and what I thought my limits were, to, if nothing else, make sure that I had used each day as best I could to never feel that feeling again.
(You can read the blog post in its entirety here.)
We'd like to offer a warm congratulations to Esther on a job well done and for winning her first gold medal. Job well done!
You can read the rest of her blog submissions here.