My City August 2022

MYSPORTS

celebrate a win for too long or spend too much time dwell ing on a loss, you are going to get caught o guard by the competition during the next race. It’s crucial to stay focused on preparing for each individual race.” Mark Rothstein, who recently completed his 31st season as U of M’s head rowing coach, vividly recalls the freshman from Flushing who took to the sport like, well, like a sh takes to water. “We never recruited Ellen and had no idea who she was until she made the team at that open tryout, but she was a really good athlete and began developing as a rower,” he says. “Sometimes, a talented basketball or volleyball player wants to try rowing, but does not always respond to the very demanding training. Ellen really took to the training, kept getting better and I knew she would continue getting better after she left Michigan.”At U of M,Tomek helped the Wolverines win a Big Ten championship and third-place nish at the NCAA Championships her sophomore year, and take eighth at the NCAA Championships as a junior. As a senior, she was in the third seat on the First Varsi ty Eight boat which was second at the Big Ten Champion ship and sixth at the NCAA Regional. “I became really motivated to work my way to the First Varsity Eight,” Tomek says. “I really looked into the numbers and concentrated on how I beat my previous performance the next time. Over time, a lot of learning from coaches and teammates and extra work like studying video paid o .” All that work resulted in Tomek dropping her best time in a six-kilometer time trial by over a minute during practice in her senior year which prompted a question from Rothstein. “Have you ever thought about making the national team?” “I was like ‘Honestly, no. Not until right now’ because I had not been close to fast enough,”Tomek recalls. “After that, I began thinking how I could make that happen.” Tomek and Carle were among those invited to US Rowing’s U23 Selection Camp which began about three weeks after Tomek’s college career ended. Not only were both picked for the World U23 Championships in July of 2006, but they were paired with each other. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS

Tomek and hurdler Ti any O li-Porter are the only female University of Michigan athletes who have competed in three Olympics. e 38-year-old, who now lives in Hollister, CA has continued receiving accolades in retirement. In April, e Michigan Daily , Michigan’s campus newspaper, includ ed Tomek in an article entitled “5 Impactful Wolverine Women,” along with the likes of Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins and 20-term U.S. House of Representatives member, Marcy Kaptur. In June, Tomek learned she is a member of U of M’s 2022 Hall of Honor class. “For me, the Hall of Honor is an incredible honor because it’s a re’ection of my entire career and not just a moment in time like a race medal is,” she says. “It’s really a special appreciation and recognition for what I’ve accomplished as a whole. Being part of the article about Michigan’s most impactful women also meant a great deal because it’s a reminder of the in’uence you can have by being successful over a long period of time.” And the secret to that success? “Overall, for me, it was just dedication and a love of the sport,”Tomek says. “Also important is the ability to regulate your emotions and handle all the highs and lows. If you At U of M, Tomek was named second-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-American and Michigan’s Rower of the Year in her final season.

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