Eric C. Mueller (born November 6, 1970) is a former Olympic and National team

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

, representing the

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at the 1996 and

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Mueller, one of the most successful men's rowers in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

history, begins his third season as the Badgers' freshmen coach. Mueller returns to Madison for the second time as an assistant coach. He spent 1998–99 as the assistant varsity coach, before leaving to train for the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. During his previous stint, he was responsible for the Badgers' small boats and led them to four gold medals and one silver medal at the

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, while the NCAA fulfills this role for women's ope ...

national championships. The result helped Wisconsin begin a four-year run as winners of the Ten Eyck Trophy as national team points champion. Since his return, the UW freshmen have improved from a bottom six national finish in the year before his joining the program to a return to the national grand finals. As a rower, Mueller secured three letters at Wisconsin while a member of the varsity eight from 1991–93. At national championships during his career, the boat placed sixth, once, and ninth, twice. A Cedarburg, native, Mueller earned a bachelor's degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

from Wisconsin in 1994. Following his Badger career, Mueller went on to win an Olympic silver medal in the men's quadruple sculls in 1996 in

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. He also placed fifth at the 2000 Olympics with the men's four. U.S. national team member in 1995, ‘96, ‘00, ‘01 and ‘02, he was part of the men's eight champion at the 2002 World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, and finished third at the 2002 World Championships in

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, Spain. His men's four took fourth at the 2001 World Championships, while his men's eight was a bronze medalist at the 2000 World Cup, again in Lucerne. He also won a bronze medal with the men's quadruple sculls in Lucerne at the 1996 World Cup.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Eric 1970 births Living people American male rowers Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in rowing People from Cedarburg, Wisconsin Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States