PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Michiel Bartman is settling into his first year as the head women’s rowing coach at Thomas Jefferson University. He joined the Rams after serving as an assistant coach at Temple.
As a competitor, Bartman won three Olympic medals, including a gold, while a member of the Dutch National Team.
But things did not start so well when Bartman entered the world of rowing as a kid.
“I didn’t really like it,” he said, which led to a conversation with his parents.
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“I came back and I said, ‘I want to quit.’ And they said, ‘No, we paid the membership fee for the whole year.’”
There but for the grace of already-paid fees would have gone a three-time Olympic career. Despite interest in baseball, he dedicated himself so much to the sport that rowing became “my life, basically.”
That became even more solidified while on the winner’s stand representing the Netherlands in the men’s eight-man boat at Lake Lanier in Georgia during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Summer Games.
“We just had a great tournament,” he said. “We won our races pretty easily, and when I had that gold medal around my neck, I thought, ‘Okay, this is what I want to do.’”
In the latest episode of “1-on-1 with Matt Leon,” Matt talked with Bartman about more of his Olympic experiences, coming on board with the Thomas Jefferson Rams, and why the Philadelphia rowing scene is so special.
You can listen to the full episode below.