Living the Olympic Dream

Four years ago, as Regina Salmons, C’18, entered the final stretch of her Olympic preparations, a friend of a friend connected her to the McLean family. It felt serendipitous. Salmons needed somewhere to live in Princeton, New Jersey, while she attended Olympic selection camp for the U.S. women’s rowing team. The McLeans had a spot where Salmons could stay, and they had a common bond: Steve, C’04, and Sarah, C’03, were Penn alums, having met as undergrads there.

They have supported Salmons in her quest ever since. “They have hosted me and provided such a stable and loving housing,” she says. “That has made a world of difference because I’ve been able to focus on training full time.”

The Games that start on July 26 will be Salmons’ second. She’ll be joined in France by Isabella Whittaker, C’24, who made the U.S. Track & Field team and will compete in the 400-meter relay. They’re part of a small contingent of Penn Arts & Sciences alums who have participated in the Summer Olympics since 1996, including Susan Francia, C’04, G’04, a two-time Olympic gold medalist rower who competed in 2008 and 2012. 

Salmons will race in the women’s eight boat. She fell just short of a medal in Tokyo in 2021, placing fourth, but says this time feels different. The group finished second in the 2023 World Rowing Championships and is determined to return to the podium in 2024. Before she departed for Europe, Salmons spoke with Omnia about competing on the world stage. 

What is it like to represent your country in the Olympics?

The first national team I made was in 2016. I was 19. It was right after my sophomore year at Penn. It was at the Under-23 World Championships. When you win, they raise the U.S. flag and play the National Anthem. There is absolutely nothing like that, because it’s not just you standing on the podium. It is everybody who you’ve trained with and who didn’t make the final team. Everybody you grew up with. All of your family. All your friends. All of your neighbors who have cheered you on. 

Life after Olympic Glory

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By Matt Gelb 

The gold medals rest in a sunglasses case, tucked away in Susan Francia’s sock drawer. It’s not that Francia, C’04, G'04, wants to conceal her Olympic legacy—a two-time winner in the women’s eight rowing competitions in 2008 and 2012. As the years pass, she likes to be reminded in different ways.

“Having been an Olympic champion twice, that knowledge is enough,” Francia says. “I know all the work that went into it. And I got there. The medals are beautiful, of course. And my biggest joy with the medals, actually, is when I do public speaking or go to schools to share it with other people. They get to hold it, and I see their joy. It’s really fun, especially with kids.”

Every Games, of course, stir memories for Francia; this year, she will be watching from California, where she resides. She transitioned from world-class rower to coach, and now leads a sales team for a biotech company in San Diego.

Penn, Francia says, showed her the door to her Olympic potential. Competing at that level wasn’t a dream until one of her coaches at the time, Scott Belford, put the idea in her head. He recognized Francia’s talent. “You could even win gold,” Belford told her in 2001. “And when they put that gold medal around your neck, I’m going to be there to watch you.”

She believed.

“We had this moment,” Francia says this summer. “He was so serious. And it was so cool because ...” She trails off.  “I’m tearing up right now because he was just so great.” That has stuck with her for decades.

“It unlocked a lot of self-confidence in me,” Francia says. “Now when I have tough challenges in my professional career, I know I’ve got this. Anything is doable. I can face any challenge.”

She’s carried a piece of Penn in her post-Olympics journey. “I did this really awesome, intense thing going to the Olympics,” Francia says. “Now I have this Olympic ‘degree’ and I’ve got my Penn degree. I’m ready for anything.”

It’s not just you standing on that podium or sitting in that boat at the starting line. It is everyone who supported you along the way.

That is one of my favorite things about rowing. Because it is a team sport, you are never alone in the boat. It’s an incredibly painful sport. When done well, it looks really beautiful and easy, like you’re floating. But when you’re halfway through the race, it is just the most painful thing in the world. Your lungs are on fire. Your legs are on fire. Your whole body is aching. Yet you’re never alone, which makes it easy to push through that pain and to continue to perform at the highest level—because you’re thinking about all those people who will be there on the podium with you.

How did your time at Penn prepare you to compete at such a high level?

From an athletic perspective, Penn has world-class resources. Rowing on the Schuylkill River, it’s one of the birthplaces of American rowing. So, you’re definitely steeped in that legacy, with all the Penn oarsmen who have come before you. It’s incredible to become a part of that legacy.

And, because of the academic challenges, I think Penn prepared me for the Olympics. It’s so easy to get caught up in all body or all mind. To be an Olympian, I’m so focused on making my body the very best version of itself it can be. Pushing my body to the limits of humankind. Multiple times a week, I’m pushing my heart rate to its maximum. Multiple times a week, I’m pushing my anaerobic and aerobic thresholds.

But to also have had this incredible academic experience—I was very involved with the Kelly Writers House and the poetry community at Penn—it pushed me to the limits of my mind and my creativity. To be able to hold both of those in either hand constantly enhances the other. I still write poetry. I still use that academic portion of my brain in my professional career at Broadridge Financial Solutions, where I work part-time while training full-time.

And to have had both of those experiences at Penn was absolutely phenomenal. As you push yourself academically or creatively, it helps you push your body. It inspires the other half to be whole and to push what being world-class means.

What are you most excited about for the Paris Olympics? 

It’s kind of funny. Even though it’s my second Olympics, it very much feels like my first Olympics because my family and friends weren’t able to come to Tokyo. There were no fans at those Olympics. So, I’m incredibly excited to have an Olympics where, after we’re done competing, I can spend time with family and friends. I can sightsee a little bit. After Tokyo, we had to leave within 48 hours of the competition, which was really hard. I’m really excited about whatever happens at this Olympics. Obviously, we are pushing so hard for the podium, but no matter the result, I’m extremely excited to celebrate with my team and my family and friends.

What does it mean to you to be an Olympian? 

You get to try to be the best version of yourself in terms of the whole world. You get to meet all of these other people who have also been pushing themselves to the absolute limits of the human ability—mentally, physically, and emotionally. There’s so much hard work and sacrifice to get to that level. All I can think about is the little girl who, at five years old, is playing recreational soccer, the chance to be aggressive and confident and be the best version of herself. Twenty-two years later, it’s still very much the same thing.

At Penn, so many people are the best versions of themselves and doing world-class things across all different areas of study and fields. I’m just so excited to be at the world-class level for rowing and represent Penn there. And to have that little girl along with me, too.

Main image: Regina Salmons, C’18, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Image: Courtesy Regina Salmons)