Holly Metcalf, 1984 U.S. gold medalist in rowing and founder of Row As One Institute, and Mark Tewksbury, 1992 Canadian gold medalist in the 100-meter backstroke and an activist for the 2006 Gay Games, tell their remarkable stories of overcoming fear and homophobia to become Olympic athletes. Whether in sports, or in life, success is about doing your personal best. This panel was part of the [National Gay and Lesbian Athletic Conference](http://gayconference.org) held at MIT.
The 2008-09 season marks the second year at MIT for Holly Metcalf. She returned to the collegiate ranks last year after establishing several successful non-profit organizations. Metcalf was a six-time member of the U.S. National Team and won five World Championship and Olympic medals. At the 1984 Olympics she captured the Gold medal in the women's eight. She has coached extensively at the club, college, and national team levels, including stints at Radcliffe College and Mount Holyoke College. Metcalf also coached the Silver-medal winning crew at the 1990 World Championships. More recently, Metcalf used rowing to enrich the lives of hundreds of women and girls through a variety of non-profit programs. In 1994, she founded the Row As One Institute, which provides masters women with top-level coaching. Metcalf was among the first to take older women seriously as rowing athletes and provided the support they needed to reach their athletic potential. She extended this concept to inner-city girls in 1996 with her G-ROW program in Watertown, Massachusetts. Six years later Metcalf established WeCanRow, a wellness and rehabilitation organization for female cancer survivors. Due to its success, it has recently evolved into WeCanRow National, which will assist the development of similar programs throughout the country.
