Sports » The Top 20 Greatest Athletes
Princeton crew is no stranger to top athletes. Tigers routinely fill the U.S. Olympic boats, and the program is known internationally for its strength. Perhaps the most gifted of all the athletes to ever grace the boathouse is Chris Ahrens ’98.
Ahrens reportedly began rowing at the age of seven with his father, and he competed in his first race at 14. He continued to row competitively through high school and has never looked back since.
Soon after joining the Tiger rowing family in 1994, Ahrens attended a selection camp for the national team.
"I was seat-raced against several veterans from previous years’ teams," Ahrens said in an interview with Row2k.com. "I managed to hold my own, and after that I thought I had a shot."
His success soon propelled him to the top heavyweight boat, where he led Princeton to a series of top finishes in the Ivy League and other major races. The highlight of his career came during the spring of his senior year when he helped the Tigers win the Varsity 8+ IRA Regatta. After racing neck and neck with Washington, Princeton eked out a narrow victory under Ahrens’ leadership and the talent of his teammates. The men’s heavyweight boat has yet to win a national title since.
Following his graduation in 1998, Ahrens stayed on the water while training for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where he contributed to a fifth place American finish in the top-eight man boat.
After his time on the international stage, Ahrens took three years off from rowing before returning to the sport in September 2003 to train for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
The United States had not won the gold in rowing since 1964, a streak that Ahrens helped to end.
The Americans beat out the Dutch by a narrow 1.27-second margin and broke the previous course record by nearly three full seconds.
"I had resigned myself to never winning gold," Ahrens said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. "So there was a certain amount of disbelief when we crossed the finish line."
Ahrens has earned a multitude of accolades beyond his highly prestigious Olympic gold medal. He also helped stroke the United States’ eight-man boat to three consecutive world championships, a degree of success that ultimately netted him the 1999 U.S. Rowing Male Athlete of the Year.
Ahrens, who currently lives in New York City, has supported Tiger crew since his graduation. The national team uses Princeton’s boathouse facilities for its training, so even after graduating, he has found himself close to the Orange and Black.
"I owe so much to the rowing team at Princeton," he said. "I hope I can continue to support them for the next 50 years."
Though the history of rowing at Princeton has always been storied and deep, Ahrens has risen to the forefront of this great tradition.
In yesterday’s paper: No. 19: Kirsty Hale ’99
In tomorrow’s paper: No. 17: Ryan Boyle ’04