Not every athlete gains the opportunity to become an Olympian. Those who do are generally those who have trained and practiced in a sport for many years, often since childhood. Ted Murphy '94, a member of the Olympic rowing team, seems to be an exception to that rule.
During his freshman week at Dartmouth, Murphy was standing in line at one of the dining halls on campus.
He was approached by Scott Armstrong, freshman crew coach at the time, now head coach, who asked him if he would like to row on the crew team.
Little did Murphy know that his answer would eventually provide him with the opportunity to participate in the Olympics.
"I'd never rowed on a team before coming to Dartmouth," Murphy said. "I came to Dartmouth with the intention of walking on to the basketball team. I'd played sports all of my life, but I wasn't ready to give up competing."
Murphy also said his decision to row was influenced by the fact that seven men from his high school were also rowing at the time, and many were his good friends.
Murphy was not an instant success at the sport. "It took him a while to pick up on the technical aspects of rowing," Armstrong said.
Murphy admits he was a pretty ugly rower his freshman year. "The sport takes much more dexterity than you think, and it takes a long time to pick that up," he said.
Despite his difficulties mastering dexterity, Murphy was able to pick up how to use the ergometer, or erg, which measures power output.
It was not long before Murphy had the team's best ergometer time.
"For me, the ergs were an indication to see how far I could take the sport," Murphy said.
Sheer determination is also an important factor in Murphy's achievements.
"One reason why Ted Murphy is so successful is because when he puts his mind to something, woe to he who stands in his way," Armstrong said.
In 1993 the National Rowing Team, which consists of the same rowers as the Olympic team, hired a new coach and held a pre-elite training camp in Indiana to which students were invited to round out the team. Murphy was invited to join the national team that July. He has remained ever since.
After his graduation, Murphy went to San Diego to join the national team.
The 15 men who make up the national team practice eight to 10 hours each day to prepare for competition.
