With muscles afire and water reflecting glaring-hot sunlight into his eyes, time moves differently. Calloused hands chafe against the oars, and the world is reduced to a team in a boat, gliding across the water.
Often, dreams can be forgotten, set aside and given up on. But if Pine View alumnus and prospective Olympic rower Clark Dean knows anything, it’s hard work. With countless hours of training, years of practice, and the self-motivation to improve, Dean’s raw willpower has taken him to the 2019 World Championship, one step away from the status of an Olympian.
Dean was first introduced to the sport the summer before his sixth-grade year when he attended a camp at Sarasota Crew that he’d heard about from his friends — unaware that years later he would be vying for a seat in the Olympics.
“Rowing was the first sport I’d done on the water, outdoors and very team-oriented. You couldn’t just rely on yourself,” Dean said.
By eighth grade, he was already rowing on the freshmen team. From then on, he trained five to six days a week with the varsity program, volunteering himself for an intense schedule.
“{Rowing} forces you to manage your time, and that carries on to college,” Dean said. “It gives you a good sense of discipline and work ethic.”
According to Dean, the atmosphere in Sarasota Crew is one of teamwork and strong support from coaches and peers — Dean’s parents and friends in both the Sarasota Crew and Pine View communities were always supportive and provided a foundation for him to thrive. In return, Dean committed himself to the community, keeping the team-oriented values alive.
“He was always looking for ways to engage the guys. They would make up games, something different but inclusive. We’re a big squad, we have six eights worth of guys, but everyone would be included in the things he would bring to the program,” Caitlynn Crouch, high school boys’ varsity coach said. Crouch is in her eighth season coaching at Sarasota Crew.
Dean’s perseverance led him to reach a defining moment when he became a Junior World Champion in 2017.
“I didn’t think I would be able to win the single scull … I was less experienced than these other guys I would be racing, I was younger than these guys I would be racing, and I knew I wasn’t even the strongest guy in the field, physically,” Dean said. “About a quarter of the way through [the race], I was in fifth or sixth place, knowing that I had to get up two to advance, and then I just realized, ‘I think I can beat these guys.'”
Clark said that the experience gave him the confidence to continue, “It was definitely a great feeling, especially when you’re in a boat that’s just you … It takes away any doubt in your mind.”
After his senior year, Dean went on to set a record in a single boat, completing a 2,000-meter course in 6 minutes and 45 seconds.
He graduated in 2018 and continued his education at Harvard University, rowing on the heavyweight men’s team throughout his freshman year. Entering the 2019-2020 school year, he took a hiatus from school and dedicated his time to rowing. With seven years of hard work and skill under his belt, he placed his focus on reaching the rower’s grail: the Olympics.
“Even as a freshman, his goal was to one day be an Olympian,” Crouch said. “To watch an eighth-grader grow into the thing he wanted to be — I think it’s very rare. I think he always has been able to embody what hard work can get you, and his ability to commit to his goals. Not just the dream of what could happen but knowing and accepting the work that had to happen every day on that path.”
Dean and 19 other Americans were selected for the 2019 World Rowing Championship in Austria from August 19 to September 1. There, the top boats worldwide qualified their country for spots in the Olympics (the U.S. qualified for one eight-person sweeping boat and one four-person sweeping boat, leaving 12 U.S. seats for summer 2020. Dean was a part of the winning four-person boat). The rowers then underwent a meticulous selection process in which U.S. coaches observed them in different team combinations to select the fastest athletes who work well together and go on to fill the seats in the Olympics.
Dean’s contribution in the victorious four-person boat did not guarantee him a spot on the U.S. team — rowers have yet to be announced.
“This summer was definitely the most challenging of all,” Dean said. During his previous experiences in the Junior World Championships, he raced with rowers under 19. While in Austria, he raced both against and with true Olympians, some nearly double his age. Across the world and in a new environment, he had to adapt quickly to different training processes to succeed.
While his place in the Olympics is not yet secured, Dean has already accomplished much through realistic focus on his goals and the self-motivation needed to reach them. Outside of the realm of competition, harsh sun and shrill whistles, rowing is still a place where Dean can find peace.
“It’s always something I can escape to — get away from the crowd and school, and have something to resort back to, even if it’s just a 20-minute row,” he said. “Just myself out on the water … I’m always looking forward to it.”