University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Alum Sarah Jones Makes Olympic Rowing Team
June 30, 2004 | Rowing
June 30, 2004
Amherst, Mass. - Former UMass rower Sarah Jones earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team after she and her partner, Kate MacKenzie won back-to-back races in the women's pair competition at the Olympic Trials on Lake Mercer in New Jersey. Jones, a 1997 UMass graduate, rowed for the Minutewomen from 1996-97 and will be competing in her second Olympics.
Jones (Stanwood, Wash.) and MacKenzie (Novi, Mich.) faced Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) and Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) in a best two-out-of-three finals and the duo won both races by less than a second. Jones raced for the U.S. team in the eight at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She also raced in the quad that qualified the U.S. for the Athens Olympics last year This year she joined forces with MacKenzie to win the spot in the pair on the U.S. team.
"Sarah is the most persistent person I've coached," said UMass coach Jim Dietz. "It looked like she might not be going to Athens and then turned around and won her spot in the pair. She's a gifted athlete and a gifted person. I'm extremely happy for her."
Jones has been a member of the US National Rowing team since 1997.
