Alumni Train for London Olympics

When Dave Wakulich ’11 was a trying out for the Canadian Junior National Team, a rower on the senior national squad, Malcolm Howard ’05, wanted to help him out.

“He offered to house me during a training camp in 2007,” Wakulich wrote in an e-mail. “He became my inside man.”

On Nov. 17, the two were selected for the Men’s Eight Group at Canada’s Olympic Training Camp and are now training in Victoria, B.C., with the goal of making the men’s eight for the 2012 Olympics.

“It’s a huge honor to get invited,” Howard said.

“Being an Olympian is something I’ve aspired to become since my early teenage years,” Wakulich wrote. “I’m simply one step closer now. I don’t feel much different and the mission is the same—get jacked and get fast!”

Howard’s invitation was hardly a surprise.

A three-time national champion with the Crimson, Howard won a gold medal in the eight at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and was most recently a member of the Canadian eight that took bronze at the 2011 World Rowing Championships, held in Bled, Slovenia.

“He has tremendous drive—clearly very, very highly motivated,” Harvard coach Harry Parker said.

“His mentality and physicality are inspiring,” Wakulich wrote. “A lot of guys on the squad at school and here at the training center look up to him and his accomplishments. I would feel gratified to instill in any Harvard rower, or person in general, what Malcolm has in me. As one of Harvard`s very few Gold Medal winning Olympians he has become the benchmark for not only Harvard Crew but Harvard Athletics [sic].”

According to Parker, Howard has excelled since before his college days.

“Both [Howard and Wakulich are] very powerful, very fit athletes,” he said. “Malcolm actually came to us that way and just kept developing and getting stronger and fitter every year.”

For Wakulich, the road was a little windier.

“He was hampered for the first year and a half by injuries, by difficulty with his knee—very limited training, not much chance to develop technically,” Parker said. “He made some very significant strides in both his junior and senior years.”

After graduating as the school’s 2k record-holder, Wakulich got his foot in the door of the Canadian national team following a fourth-place finish at this summer’s U23 World Championships.

“I received an invitation to try out for the Pan American squad,” he said. “I was seeking as much international racing experience as possible, so I figured I would give it a shot. I showed up for tryouts and seat-raced my way into both the four and the eight.”

Both the Canadian four and eight took silver at the Pan American Games, which took place in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico.

“It was a huge spectacle and an experience I will never forget,” Wakulich wrote. “I learned a lot about racing and competition in general. All of the races were extremely close but we were not able to come out on top, which was disappointing. More fuel for the fire, though, right?”

His summer and fall successes proved enough to earn him the invite to the 2012 Olympics, which will be held in London.

“It seems quite apparent that he has continued to develop physically and technically,” Parker said. “I think it’s quite an achievement for him to be included in the eights group.”

“I’m excited to have Dave here,” Howard said. “He brings a really good work ethic; he brings a really great attitude. He wants to be here, and he wants to do whatever he can to help improve the team.”

Boat announcements are off in the distance. For now, Howard, Wakulich, and the rest of the athletes are focused on the long winter training months that lie ahead.

“We’re both excited to put in the miles,” Howard said. “Medals are awarded in the summer, but they’re won in the winter.”

“Our national team training program has been a bit of a shock to the system, but one I expected,” Wakulich wrote. “Rowing is my job now and let’s just say I no longer have American collegiate sport organizations limiting how many hours a day or per week I’m allowed to work out.”

Whatever the outcome of the months ahead, Parker notes that their accomplishments to this point have brought joy to Newell Boathouse.

“We all must take a great deal of pride in their achievements, both the coaches and the oarsmen,” Parker said. “We’re very proud of them.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.