The specific photo choice really doesn't matter here, because just about any racing photo of our Olympic Silver Medalist(!!!!) reflects her focus and intensity. Of course you can say that about many athletes at Gevvie's level, so no big surprise there. What is far more rare is the attitude (or rather lack thereof) that is just as evident. She will happily kick your ass on the water, but she will also be the first to offer a compliment if you had a particularly good piece. So, as I've said this many times before about other milestones along the road to Rio, this Olympic medal couldn't have happened to a better person. But this medal didn't just happen. It took a long time to get from a rainy day in at the 2010 Worlds Trials in Princeton, NJ to this sunny day in Rio. It was journey during which, pardon the pun, literally no stone was left unturned. Gevvie and Gregg systematically identified and eliminated parts of her racing and training that needed to be improved. Her start in the final in Rio was great--she was right in the mix. That wasn't always the case. Her final 500 was a thing of beauty--she boldly made the first move to get into silver medal position, and continued to move away from China and New Zealand. That day in Princeton in 2010? Not so much. Gevvie lost when Lindsay Meyer sprinted through in closing stages of the race. That was the last trials race she would lose, but I know that result helped make her the sculler she is today. Just like every other race she's been in, she learned something from it, and made it better. And today, she made it just about perfect. For our sometimes-not-so-little group it's been a privilege being part of the journey, and it's also been just plain fun. And all of us couldn't be happier. And the moral of the story? Dream big, and never, ever, tell Dr. Genevra Stone what she and cannot do. She's more than determined enough to prove you wrong.

I keep reusing this photo of Gregg from the 2012 Olympic trials because I think that captured him pretty well. Just happy when Gevvie does well, both as father as a coach, but also always ready to push forward. Though I think, right around 9:52 EST this morning, he had no words at all. Despite being quite the walking rowing encyclopedia, he's always tried to learn more, and this quest for knowledge clearly paid off. He's also managed to coral this crazy group of scullers from three different clubs, and in Tom Sawyer-like fashion convinced us all that's it's really fun. Come to think of it, most, if not all of us support the Boston Rowing Federation.  :) Oh yeah, he started that, too, with Greg Benning and Chuck Peiper. It worked pretty well, if I do say so myself , and I hope it works even better in the next quadrennium.

Team Gevvie, circa 2010. Who knew that was an Olympic medal winning family/partnership back then?