Sarah Zelenka (born June 8, 1987) is an American

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 ...

. She was a member of the 2012 US Summer Olympic team, having competed in the women's pair race.

Biography

Zelenka was born in

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a Chicago suburb. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located northwest of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, a ...

. She was a basketball player at

Lake Park High School Lake Park High School is a four-year public high school occupying two campuses, both located in Roselle, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Freshmen and sophomores attend the East Campus (the original campus built in 1956), located near Med ...

. She did not start rowing until her freshman year of college at Grand Valley State University. In 2008, Zelenka helped lead Grand Valley's women's eight to the American Collegiate Rowing Association national title. In the 2009 World Rowing Under-23 Championships, she finished sixth in the women's four. In the 2010

World Rowing Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each eve ...

, Zelenka won golds in the women's four and eight. At the 2011

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of th ...

, she won gold in the women's four. With partner Sara Hendershot, Zelenka won the U.S. Olympic trials for the women's pair to qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics. On July 28, 2012 Zelenka made it to the Olympic finals with a time of 6:59.29. In the finals, Sarah came in fourth with a time of 7:30.39.

References

Living people 1987 births Grand Valley State University alumni Olympic rowers of the United States Sportspeople from Park Ridge, Illinois Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics American female rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States American people of Czech descent 21st-century American women {{US-rowing-bio-stub