A major factor in that choice was the influence of Devon Energy, an Oklahoma City-based Fortune 500 natural gas and oil company that reported $4.1 billion in profits in Fiscal Year 2011. A community effort driven by the Oklahoma City University, endeavored to build a world class rowing facility to attract Olympic hopefuls to Oklahoma City. Part of the effort was the construction of Devon Boathouse.
"OKC loves its sports and loves its athletes," said Frank Rudolph, Devon's Executive Vice President of Human Resources. "When we built the facility to attract these Olympians it was a really nice fit."
Devon Energy has provided a number of rowers, including Newell who works in the Marketing Solutions department, with jobs to support themselves as they train for international competition. The company prides itself on allowing for as much flexibility as necessary to accomodate the training schedule necessary to pursue their Olympic dreams.
“There’s a lot of community support here,” Newell said. “Devon Energy has put a lot of money into the program. If you row, you need equipment, water, a place in the community to live and jobs. OKC has done a great job providing that for us.”
After training year round in Oklahoma City, eight rowers went out to California for the national team camp. Through a series of complex assessment criteria, lightweight four coach Bryan Volpenhein and the rest of US Rowing settled on the grouping that would represent the United States at the World Championships and, after qualifying, the Olympics.
“The benefit of training together for so long is that you have tons of data,” Newell said. “You had to look at that, figure out what it said, and pare it down in order to put together the best possible boat.”
OLYMPIC CHANCES
As Newell noted, the lightweight four is one of the more competitive events on the docket during the eight day rowing competition. The defending champion Danes return a strong boat that should contend for gold. Denmark has won three of the four Gold medals in the event, but the last two World Championships were won by Italy and Great Britain.
It would take a formidable effort for the United States to break its Olympic medal drought.
“If things go well for us in the opening qualifiers, I’m optimistic that we can make something happen,” Newell said.
Just one year out of college, Newell has already outpaced the expectations of his coaches and himself. Earning a spot on the US Olympic team makes Newell, 23, the second youngest former Crimson athlete competing in these Games—only British women’s basketball player Temi Fagbenle ’15 is younger. Newell’s development over such a short period on the water hints at better things to come.
“Committing to rowing out of college is kind of putting your life on hold for a bit,” Newell said. “But for the people who have the dedication that want to do this, and know that they’ll have other opportunities after their done, there could not be anything more rewarding.”
—Staff writer Alexander Koenig can be reached at akoenig@college.harvard.edu.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, racing facilities were said to have been located at University of Central Oklahoma. In fact, they are at Oklahoma City University.