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Tomek then moved to Princeton, NJ to train at US Rowing Headquarters, sharing a residence with future two-time Olympic gold medalist Erin Cafaro and Megan Kalmoe. Training there helped Tomek make Team USA’s roster for the 2007 World Champion ships in quadruple sculls. Heading into Olympic year 2008, she had also discovered something. “During the process of making the 2007 World Team, I really took to sculling which is di‹erent from the sweep-rowing we did at Michigan,” she explains. “I had been aiming more for the 2012 Games when I moved to New Jersey, but began to think I was good enough to make it in 2008.” ”e grueling training that Tomek thrust herself into during a 15-year international career resumed. ”roughout much of the year, she trained for six hours a day, six days a week in the gym or in a boat before 1-2 hours of what she calls “recovery training” on the seventh day. “”ere was never a time when I was not training, it ’s a full-time job; although I was able to earn some extra money coaching,” she shares. “Doing what it takes to recover in time for the next practice is as im portant as things like getting enough sleep.” Tomek focused on making the Olympic team in double sculls. At a Team USA camp in San Diego during the winter prior to the Games, coaches paired Tomek with Kalmoe for the ˜rst time. “Literally from the ˜rst strokes o‹ of the dock, it felt like we were absolutely šying,” Kalmoe wrote in a blog post in 2013. “I had never had a boat move so well. Both of us were caught by surprise. We started beating all of the other doubles (pairs) – crushing them.” ”e pair won a National Selection Regatta before placing seventh and fourth at two World Cup events which resulted in being selected for the Olympics. In Beijing,Tomek and Kalmoe placed third in their heat before winning their repechage to qualify for the ˜nal. “I was a little starstruck at that ˜rst Olympics and

felt like I was part of a Cinderella story,”Tomek says. “Winning a medal was what we worked for, but it was a great experience staying in the Olympic Village, meet ing athletes from other sports and other countries.” Tomek and Kalmoe followed the Olympic performance with a sixth-place ˜nish at the 2009 World Championships, but rib injuries then began taking a toll on Tomek. She struggled to stay healthy from 2010-2012 and did not qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Kalmoe then shifted her fo cus to quadruple sculling and Tomek began the next chapter of her career with new partner,Meghan O’Leary. ”ey ˜nished seventh at the 2013 World Champion ships and sixth in 2014 before slipping to 11th in 2015. However, Tomek and O’Leary bounced back when it mattered most in 2016, winning the Olympic Trials. At the Olympics, they ˜nished just fourth in their heat, but rebounded to place second in the repechage. In the semi˜nals, they roared past the two-time defending  “What Ellen achieved is no surprise to me. She is a great person with great character who embraced the concept of working as a team right away.” Mark Rothstein Head Coach, U of M Rowing At the 2016 Olympic games, Tomek (left/front) and Meghan O’Leary finished 6th beating two-time defending World Champions from New Zealand on the way.

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