Maybe the saying should be “It rows in the family.”
For the Rushers of West Bend, friendly paddling on various buoyant crafts around Big Cedar Lake escalated to competitive rowing both in college and the Olympics.
Cindy Rusher was a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Women’s Varsity Eight national championship crew in 1986. She credits her coach, Sue Ela, for encouraging her and her teammates to try out for the women’s national team. That led to Cindy competing in two Olympic games.
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Cindy’s husband, Jack Rusher, is also a two-time Olympic rower. Their daughter, Alie Rusher, rowed for the U.S. in Tokyo in 2021. Another daughter, Kay Rusher, rowed on a varsity boat at Stanford University.
And, their son, Nick Rusher, made the Men’s Eight (8+) boat to represent the U.S. in this summer’s 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Cindy Rusher and Nick Rusher spoke to WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” ahead of the opening ceremony Friday about the family legacy and the team aspect of rowing.
On Monday, July 29, Nick Rusher and his team won their heat and will compete for a medal on Saturday, Aug. 3.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Rob Ferrett: Nick, not everybody follows in their parents’ footsteps. My kids, for example — no interest in radio. What made you decide, “Yes, I’m embracing this family sport?”
Nick Rusher: I counted myself lucky, my parents never really forced me to row. Maybe it was all part of their plan. But they definitely encouraged me to play different sports. And then when I got to high school, they were kind of like, “Oh, maybe you should try rowing and see if you like it or not.” And, of course, I tried it and got good genetics from them, so I ended up being pretty good at it and liked it from there.
But I also wanted to be part of my family legacy. Both my sisters were rowing in college at the time. And obviously, my parents had had success at the Olympic level. So it was always a dream of mine.
RF: Cindy, when your daughter was in Tokyo, you couldn’t go, it was COVID time. I imagine you’re extra excited to actually be able to see this one.
Cindy Rusher: It was pretty heartbreaking to not watch Alie, I have to tell you. That was a hard time for her and for us and for all those athletes. So, to be able to go to Paris and watch Nick is just a dream for us.
RF: And a key here, Nick, is this is a team sport. You’re all getting in peak, individual performance readiness there. But you’re coordinating, you’ve got eight rowers, plus one.
NR: Especially on the national team, everyone is pretty self-interested, until they make the boat. And then once the boat’s together, you have to work together to try and win a medal and hopefully win the race.
So, it’s definitely a transition from, “How do I put myself in the best situation that I can? How do I make sure the coaches know that I’m moving the boat well?” And then it transitions towards a group mindset of, “How do I work with everyone else? With technique, with mindset? How do we together do this extremely difficult task and get down the racecourse as fast as we can?”
RF: Cindy, as a parent, my kids played soccer for years and years. I don’t really know soccer, so I don’t have any valid advice for them. When you’re watching your kid rowing though, do you kind of have that coach or that experienced athlete mindset where you’re offering advice, even though, of course, he couldn’t hear it?
CR: I would never give unsolicited advice to my child, that’s for sure. But yeah, you can’t help but watch a race and I’m thinking to myself, “Get your blade in quicker, come on, Nick!”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Nick and his team’s performance on Monday, July 29.
WPR is talking with Wisconsin’s athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Head to WPR’s special Olympic and Paralympic page to meet more of the competitors.
