This article was written by Phoebe Weintraub and Vivian Yao for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Photo by Derek Wong
On Sept. 24, US Rowing announced its Under 23 National Team Male and Female Athletes of the Year, and Penn’s own heavyweight senior Sam Sullivan was chosen as Male Athlete of the Year.
“I mean, it’s really exciting,” Sullivan said. “It was really special because it’s voted on by the teammates, the coaches, so just the people around us, they thought I deserved it.”
The winners of US Rowing’s awards are selected by the athletes and coaches who competed at the 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in St. Catherines, Ontario earlier this year. Sullivan competed on the U23 national team, helping the men’s eight boat to a silver medal, finishing just seconds behind Great Britain.
After missing out on representing Team USA just a year prior, getting an opportunity to wear the Red, White, and Blue was a dream come true even without bringing home gold.
“I tried for the camp last summer,” Sullivan said. “I didn’t make it, so to come in in a different position, and really be able to make a difference was really cool.”
The Boston native was also named Male Athlete of the Year by US Rowing for the 2023-24 season and made first-team IRCA All-America in both the 2022-23 season and for the 2023-24 season. A regular in the eights boat, Sullivan led Penn to three victories last year against Holy Cross, Cornell, and Oregon State, as well as four second place finishes.
Sullivan usually rows the stroke seat, the closest seat to the stern, and has some of the best times of the team. As of last spring, his personal best in the 2,000-meter race is 5:49. He most frequently races the 2,000m and, alongside his teammates, has led the 8+ to some of their best times. Last year, they rowed 5:29.8 against Cornell at the Madeira Cup, beating the Big Red, and came in fifth place out of 15 teams at the EARC Sprints with a heat time of 5:29.276 and a grand final time of 5:34.046.
In a release by USRowing, Sullivan said, ““It is such an honor to be selected as USRowing Under 23 National Team Male Athlete of the Year. It’s amazingly special to be recognized by such a talented and wonderful group of people. There’s no other group of guys that I would’ve rather gone on this journey with. To be able to represent the U.S. on the world stage was the experience of a lifetime.”
“I’d like to thank all of my boatmates, teammates, and coaches on the U23 team for all of the work they put in and how great of a summer they made it. It’s so special to be able to do this with my Penn teammates specifically. I have only gotten to where I am because of the work of my coaches and all of my teammates at Penn. I’d especially like to thank my mother, Cheryl, for her unwavering support and presence every step of the way. Thank you all!”
Sullivan and the female recipient, Kate Kelly of University of Virginia, will be recognized on Attager Row at the Head of the Charles on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m.