Sullivan and Kelly Claim U23 USRowing Athlete of the Year Titles

USRowing has named Kate Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./University of Virginia) and Sam Sullivan (Boston, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) as Under 23 Athletes of the Year for 2024 as voted on by their USRowing teammates and coaches.

Sullivan made his international debut this year when he was the stroke of the 2024 U23 men’s eight, that achieved a silver medal. Sullivan is a two-time First-Team IRCA All-America and a 2024 Academic All-Ivy selection. While racing at the University of Pennsylvania, Sullivan placed fifth in the varsity eight at the 2024 Eastern Sprints and finished eighth at the 2024 IRA Championships.

“It is such an honor to be selected as USRowing Under 23 National Team Male Athlete of the Year,” Sullivan told USRowing. “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.”

Sullivan is joined by Kate Kelly on the women’s side. In 2019 Kelly earned a spot on the USRowing Under 19 National Team that raced in Tokyo, Japan. In 2022 she and her boat mates raced to a gold medal in the under 23 women’s four with coxswain and in 2023 she and the under 23 women’s eight clinched a silver medal.

“Throughout high school and college I would write my goals on little sticky notes and stick them on my mirror or the back of my door,” said Kelly. “A lot of our races this summer were motivated and driven by pushing for each other. I’ve never had such a strong connection in an international race like that with the people that I was racing with. I always knew that the U23 Athlete of the Year was a thing, but I never expected to receive the honor. When I got the email last week I thought, ‘oh my goodness, that’s crazy.’ It’s still surreal now.”

Kelly credits the success she found racing on the national stage to be from her ability to expand beyond what she always expected of herself as an athlete and hopes to see where that mindset will take her in her rowing career now that she’s graduated from UVA.

“I found a lot of success when I started to believe in my abilities. Initially coming into college, I set easily achievable goals just to find a sense of accomplishment. When I started stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking more risks, I found more achievement.”

Both Kelly and Sullivan will be recognized at the historic Head of the Charles regatta on Attager Row, Sunday, October 19. Find more information on Sullivan and Kelly’s boats at Mega Worlds as covered by Rowing News here.

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