USRowing Spotlight: Jen Beery

Olympian and two-time national team member Jen Beery, formerly Jen Goldsack, competed in the lightweight women's double sculls in the 2008 Olympic Games. The University of Oxford graduate was a member of the British National Team in 2005 and 2006.

USROWING: What inspired you to take up the sport of rowing?

BEERY: I actually got really into rowing when I realized, due to a seriously dodgy knee, that I did not have much of a future playing rugby. I was at uni in Oxford and, after a failed knee surgery, decided that if I couldn't play rugby, I needed to find some other sport that was hard, but where I could sit down. Unsurprisingly, rowing was the obvious choice. I was also very excited to find out that they had a special category for "small people." This was in my junior year in college, and the rest is history.

USROWING: What was it like growing up with an American mother and British father? Do you ever get any amusing questions about your dual citizenship?

BEERY: I remember turning up to kindergarten and realizing that a lot of my vocabulary, learned from my mom, was useless. (Bless her - I don't mean it.) When told to put on my "plimsoles" for gym class, I had no idea that these were sneakers. No one understood what my peanut butter and jelly sandwich actually was until I gave another girl a bite of it. (Apparently, it was a peanut butter and JAM sandwich.) I actually think my mom suffered worse. The day when I was doing my homework at the age of six and told her that I needed a rubber, I think she almost died. What she didn't realize was that in England, a rubber is actually an eraser!

USROWING: You've mentioned that the thrill of racing will always be your favorite part about the sport. What is your most memorable racing moment?

BEERY: Sadly, it was failing to make the Olympic final. Even though that is my worst memory and I would love to forget it, I think it will stay with Renee and I forever. The worst part was that even though we had had an appalling start to the race, crossing the line, we thought we had done just enough to earn a slot in the final and one last "do-over" for a shot at a medal. The honest truth is that neither of us had seen the Greek boat sneaking up on the opposite side of the course, and when we looked at the scoreboard putting up the results, we expected to see us in third. That horrible moment when I realized it was all over remains my most vivid racing memory. Here's to making some better ones in the future! Now, if only I could convince Renee that being an amazing lawyer (her latest incarnation) would be nowhere near as fun as being an awesome bow girl with no money, a hungry tummy, no social life whatsoever and a permanently sore back.

USROWING: How did your experience at the Beijing Olympics shape your plans for your rowing future? What's next for you?

BEERY: Well, in typical all-or-nothing Jen style, I spent about seven months vowing I would never, ever, scull again for as long as I lived. Right now, let's just say that the racing itch is back, and after what I know is going to be a painful road back to any sort of fitness, I am excited to see where that takes me.

USROWING: You married Olympic rower Dan Beery on January 17. How is married life treating you both?

BEERY: We had kind of a rough time after the Olympics - neither of us were rowing, we did not have jobs, a home or furniture. But, we did have this crazy little puppy and each other - oh, and a bed and a TV - that was about it. I was really homesick for a while. For the first time since college, I actually had time on my hands to see my friends, but they weren't here. There was definitely a transition period for both of us while we found somewhere to live, made it a home, settled into new careers (and a new country for me), planned a wedding and helped our little puppy get used to us. The really cool thing is that if I could have picked anyone in the world to go through that whirlwind with, it would have been Dan. He is my best friend and somehow he is always so calm, even through my craziness, and we always manage to laugh through the disasters. Now that everything has settled down, things are great and I am really lucky to have him.