Former Brown Men's Rower Luke McGee '01 Leads U.S. to Rio
5/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Former Brown rower Luke McGee '01, the head heavyweight coach of the United States Men's National Team, recently coached the men's eights to a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games with a first-place showing at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta on Tuesday in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The U.S. men's eights crossed first in a time of 5:29.16 to earn one of two qualifying spots to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August. Poland was second in a time of 5:29.62, while Italy missed qualifying, crossing third in 5:29.98.
"There were three pretty class crews, so we knew it was going to be a tight race, but the guys handled it well," said McGee, who graduated from Brown in 2001 and began his path to the Olympics as a coach in 2004. "Brown was my first coaching job, so the school gave me a lot in terms of coaching and as a student-athlete."
McGee, who also serves as the U.S. Men's Under 23 Coordinator, was named head coach of the U.S. National Team in 2013 after five years as the freshman coach at the University of Washington. McGee achieved a tremendous level of success with the Washington freshmen program including gold medals in 2009, 2010 and 2012 and five consecutive team national championships.
Before Washington, McGee returned to Brown in 2004 as the freshmen coach, leading his alma mater to a pair of Eastern Sprints titles in 2005 and 2007. A standout rower at Brown, McGee rowed in the varsity boat for three years, where he earned a Sprints silver medal in 1999, followed by an IRA National Championship silver medal, a Sprints Championship, and a Royal Henley Regatta Championship in 2000.
McGee later competed at Oxford University and was a member of the United States National Team from 2001-2004. In 2003, he stroked the U.S. Men's Coxed Four to a World Championship in Italy.
For more information, complete results and photo galleries of the event, visit usrowing.org.
