Caroline Lind '02 Wins Gold Medal in Beijin

The US Women's Eight Crew defeated the Netherlands for Olympic gold.

August 18, 2008 —The headline in today’s Boston Globe said it all: “US Women’s Eight Shows the World it’s a Golden Crew.” The lead paragraph featured a quote from a very excited Andover alumna, Caroline Lind ’02 who was recalling the last time an American women’s eight had grabbed the gold—1984—against their nemesis, Romania. “They wanted to welcome us to their club,” she said, “so we had to step up.”

And step up they did, dominating the race and claiming the gold medal on Sunday, August 17, beating out the Netherlands and then Romania by just under two seconds. The USA’s winning team clocked in at 6:05.34 on a cool and cloudy day in Beijing.

Lind, who went on to graduate from Princeton in 2006 with a major in cultural anthropology, joins previous PA Gold Medalists James McLane '48 and the US crew team of 1924. McLane won two gold medals in swimming between his upper and senior years and another gold as captain of the US team in 1952 while the 1924 crew team were all members of the class of 1921.

A standout athlete at PA, Lind not only rowed, but captained the water polo team, and played varsity basketball in her three years at Andover. She was also a Phelps Scholar, holding the Richard J. Phelps Scholarship.

Math instructor Kathryn Green was Caroline’s crew coach at Andover. Green, who still holds that position, shared vivid memories of the Olympian. “I am simply in awe of what Caroline has accomplished as an oarswoman since she has graduated from Andover...junior national team, undefeated while she was at Princeton, national team, world championships, and now an Olympic gold medalist. It's incredible and awe-inspiring and I'm so proud of her!

“When Caroline came to Andover, I remember begging her to row, but she was determined to play softball--until a ball to the face changed her mind.  She joined Andover girls’ crew as a virtual novice in the middle of our season (in the spring of her lower year), and four weeks later she was sitting in the first boat that won the 2000 New England Championship. Once she was committed to girls' crew, Caroline committed herself wholeheartedly. She was pretty much a natural in the boat, but I also have vivid memories of her getting off the bus alone every day to run the last couple of miles home from practice,” Green recalled.

“Besides her athleticism and fierce competitiveness, the other things i remember most about Caroline are her goofy sense of humor and her incredibly strong sense of team loyalty and camaraderie. Off the water, Caroline was always talking and making people laugh. She was so gregarious and extroverted that it always amazed me that she could be so serious and focused during practices and races. I imagine that her ability to maintain that balance and to keep things light in the face of so much pressure and so many expectations is probably a huge mental and emotional strength that she possesses as an elite athlete. She has been virtually unstoppable since she picked up an oar!"

At Princeton, she was on the varsity eight which won the NCAA championship in 2006 and never placed below third in any international competitions since 2005. She told NBC that she considered playing basketball at Princeton but stuck with rowing.

Her father, Fred Lind, played varsity basketball for Duke University from 1966-1969. Lind has said she plans to follow her father’s footsteps into law school, with her eye on practicing discrimination law. He father has been a public defender through much of his career. Her older sister, Mary Laura, is also an Andover graduate, Class of 1998