Madeleine Wanamaker is a well-known American Rower. She took home the gold in the women’s coxless four event at the 2018 World Rowing Championships. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she placed eighth in the four-person event and took home the gold medal in the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. Wanamaker is also qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Madeleine Wanamaker will Represent The US in the Upcoming Olympics
Madeleine Wanamaker will compete in rowing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She made the Olympic team in the women’s four or women’s eight boat classes after being chosen at the U.S. Rowing Selection Camp in March.
Madeleine Wanamaker earned her place on the Olympic team by finishing fourth in the women’s four event at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and winning gold in the women’s four at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. It has not been decided yet whether Wanamaker will row in the four or eight-person boat in Paris. A total of 13 rowers were selected for the U.S. Olympic women’s four and eight crews, but the specific lineups have not been announced.
Madeleine Wanamaker Age, Family and Early Life
Madeleine Wanamaker was born on February 14, 1995, in Neenah, Wisconsin. Her parents are Janet and Thomas Wanamaker, who both rowed for the University of Wisconsin. She has a brother named Dan. Madeleine is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds (74 kg). Her current coach is Tom Terhaar.
In high school, Madeleine Wanamaker ran cross country for Neenah High School. Her team was the state runner-up three times and placed third in 2009. She also competed in track and field and soccer, qualifying for the state meet multiple times and being named team MVP one season.
Madeleine Wanamaker sporting heroes are Grace Latz and Vicky Opitz. Outside of rowing, she enjoys music, art, and outdoor activities. She supports women’s rights and mental health for athletes. In the future, she wants to become a coach or work in sports psychology.
Madeleine hopes to help young athletes, especially girls, build confidence and life skills through sports. She thanks her parents, family, and friends for their support over the years. She also thanks Dr. Jackson and the surgery department that treated her condition and enabled her to return to summer racing.
How Madeleine Wanamaker’s Started Rowing and her Early career
Madeleine Wanamaker began rowing in 2013 as a walk-on at the University of Wisconsin. She helped lead the team to top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017. As a senior, she earned second-team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors, but her favorite award was “Most Promising Novice.”
In the 2013-2014 season, Wanamaker rowed 7 seats in the novice 8+ boat that took 3rd at Big Ten Championships and defeated Minnesota. She also hit the novice 8+ to 3rd place at the Clemson Invite and 2nd place stroking.
Wanamaker additionally placed 3rd in the 3 seat of the Varsity 8+ “B” boat at the Milwaukee River Challenge that year. The following 2014-2015 season, she moved to the 7 seat of the 2nd Varsity 8+, finishing 9th at NCAAs and 3rd at Big Tens. Wanamaker won the Devil’s Lake Challenge and Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in that 2V8+ 7 seat.
She also raced in the top Varsity 8+ boat, taking 13th at Head of the Charles in the 8 seat .Wanamaker won Head of the Rock in the 4-seat of the Varsity 4+ and the Milwaukee River Challenge in the 3-seat of the Varsity 8+.
In 2015-2016, her Varsity 8+ placed 3rd at NCAAs in the petite final after a 3rd place finish at Big Tens. Rowing 4 seats, the boat set a season-best 6:08.10 time to earn Big Ten Boat of the Week honors. Those two wins gave the Varsity 8+ its first Big Ten Boat award. At the San Diego Crew Classic, Wanamaker’s 4-seat helped the Varsity 8+ open with a win over #2 Cal. She concluded her collegiate career by taking 11th in the quadruple sculls at the 2016 World U23 Championships.
When and where did Madeleine Wanamaker Represent the USA professionally
Madeleine Wanamaker’s professional career began in 2017 when she raced in the Varsity 8+ at Wisconsin, finishing 11th at NCAAs and 5th at both the Big Ten Championships and Clemson Invite. She also competed twice with the Varsity 8+ at the Big Ten Double Dual and San Diego Crew Classic that season.
At the Head of the Charles, Wanamaker raced in the championship 8+ placing 9th. She was then selected for the women’s 8+ at the 2017 World U23 Championships, where she won a silver medal with Team USA in a time of 6:16.44. The next year in 2018, Wanamaker won gold in the women’s 4- at the World Rowing Championships.
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In 2019, she took 6th place in the 4- at Worlds while also racing the 4- at World Cup II and finishing 5th in both the pair and 4- at World Cup I. At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Wanamaker placed 7th in the 4-. Her success continued in 2022 with a 4th place finish in the 8+ and 3rd place in the 2- at World Championships.
She also made the semifinals of the Remenham Challenge Cup 8+ at Henley Royal Regatta and won silver in the 2- at World Cup II and gold in the 2- at the National Selection Regatta II. Most recently in 2023, Wanamaker was 4th in the 4- at Worlds but captured gold in the 4- at World Cup II.
Madeleine Wanamaker Diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet
The condition Madeleine Wanamaker suffered from – thoracic outlet syndrome – and the surgery required to fix it would make any athlete worry about their future. She said there were warning signs a month or two before, so when her arm became swollen and purple-red, she had an idea of what was happening and was able to see a doctor within a couple of hours.
At first, it was really hard to accept. Wanamaker was coming off her best season yet, winning a bronze medal in the pair event at the World Championships, and feeling good about her progress. , The injury occurred during the final week of a high-altitude training camp in Colorado Springs, adding extra stress.
The surgery involved removing part of her rib and surrounding muscle between the collarbone and first rib area. Once the surgery was complete, rehabilitation began. Part of Wanamaker’s rehab process was speaking to a sports psychologist.
After the rib portion and muscle were removed in the area between the collarbone and first rib, her rehab started, which included talking to a sports psychologist.
