Coultrup To Represent Florida Tech At U23 World Rowing Championships

By  //  July 11, 2015

florida tech women's rowing

Alex Coultrup, second from right, and her crew are raising money for their trip to the U23 World Rowing Championships. (Florida Tech image)
Alex Coultrup, second from right, and her crew are raising money for their trip to the U23 World Rowing Championships. (Florida Tech image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech’s Alex Coultrup will have an opportunity many college rowers dream of, to represent their institution and country on one of the highest stages of rowing.

Coultrup, a rising senior from Huntington Beach, California, recently qualified for the Under-23 World Rowing Championships in the women’s lightweight quadruple scull at the U23 Trials. Her crew will compete on the world scene July 22-26 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

“Rowing for the United States among an international field is such a privilege, and I feel honored to be a member of the Under-23 National Team,” she said.

“Hard work does pay off! Not many athletes have the opportunity to wear the uniform of Team USA, and I want to represent it well.”

Head coach Adam Thorstad was happy for the junior college transfer from Orange Coast College when he found out the news.

Adam Thorstad
Adam Thorstad

“I’m really proud of her,” he said.

“She talked about trying to qualify for the U23 World Championships since the fall. Coach Tim and I told her she had our full support. We did our best to guide her, while training for our program. We’re happy for her and wish her the best of luck. To represent the U.S. is quite the honor.”

Coultrup will occupy the three seat and race with an experienced crew that includes stroke Bridget Konttinen from Cal, two seat Olivia Jamrog from Michigan State and bow Gabriela Purman from Wisconsin. The crew is training two times a day at GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, Connecticut. They row every morning and row, lift or cross train in the afternoon.

Alexandra Coultrup
Alexandra Coultrup

“The moment I was invited to train for this boat, I knew that no matter what happened, dropping everything and giving it my best shot would be 100-percent worth it,” she said.

“I had to do some seat-racing to hold my position in the boat, and actually ended up beating the girl who would eventually win the women’s lightweight single scull event.”

The crew is training under Guenter Beutter, an accomplished national and international coach.

“I’ve trained under several coaches now, and each one has contributed something different to the athlete I am today,” she said.

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“Coaches Adam (Thorstad) and Tim (Desrosiers) helped me develop a lot last year and work through some of the bugs in my rhythm. My teammates from FIT have been very supportive, and rowing is so based around unity, so it’s a great feeling to know I get to represent a team that really lives out a lot of the values found in the wider world of our sport.”

Coultrup’s trip is entirely self-funded. She and her crew are raising money to cover flights to and from Europe, housing and meals while abroad, boat and oar rentals on location, coaching and regatta fees.

Their goal is to raise $17,000 or $4,250 per rower. To donate or for more information, please click here.