RECKFORD Mary

General
RETIREMENT AND RETURN
In 2015 after graduating from Dartmouth College she retired from rowing. She began training again in early 2018 at Bair Island Aquatic Centre, before returning to competitive rowing in May that year. She went on to win six gold medals at the 2018 US Rowing Masters national championships. "I wasn't good enough, especially in college. I had a super slow erg. I just knew I had no shot. I let the dream rest a little bit. I still fantasised about it and always wanted to be the best of the best, but I figured I was just not made for this. Post college, I gave up on rowing. I needed to go live life, and I stopped rowing for about two and a half years. [After joining Bair Island Aquatic Centre] that's when I started training super seriously. I thought, 'I might be good at this lightweight thing. I might actually be good enough to make the national team'. So I dusted off that dream and pulled it out of the back of the closet." (usrowing.org, 01 Sep 2018; rowingnews.com, 10 May 2021)

LATE BLOOMER
After her success at the 2018 US Rowing Masters national championships, she was entered into a national team talent identification camp. She got permission from her employer to work remotely in order to focus on rowing, and at an event in April 2019 she ensured her spot on the national team. "I had no clue at the time how much that was going to change my life. My goal was to make the lightweight quad, to finish in the top eight. If I am not in the top 10, this is over, this is done. I have tried, I put in a lot of effort, but this is taking away from my career, and I can still have fun and be a masters rower. In one calendar year, I went from masters nationals to a [national team talent] ID camp, to seventh at speed order, to second at [world championship] trials, to the world championships. The [2019] world championships happened in August, and I had a Facebook reminder that came up that said a year ago you were drinking beer out of a trophy at masters nationals. And now I was at the world championships. After that, I decided, 'This is it. I am going for it'. I wanted to make Tokyo." (rowingnews.com, 10 May 2021)

OCCUPATION
After graduating with a degree in political science and government in 2015, she has since began working as an analyst and consultant in the financial industry. "Professionally [I am] focused on interest rate derivatives, mortgage products, investment grade credit, and hedge fund research. Particularly interested in following macroeconomic data and the policy of the Federal Reserve." (LinkedIn profile, 21 May 2021)