Gevvie Stone ’03 at the Tokyo Olympics

“You [have to] place top three to race for the medals, and we did that,” said Gevvie Stone ’03, who raced in the women’s double sculls A finals on Tuesday, July 27. 

“Our goal was to go out and have a great race in the hopes that that would put us on the podium,” said Stone, doing post-race interviews in Tokyo. “We were attacking from the first stroke, we didn't give them a head start today [like we did in the semifinal]. I really think we fought every stroke.”

Battling for bronze behind Romania and New Zealand, Gevvie and her teammate Kristi Wagner were not able to stay with Lithuania and the Netherlands when those two sculls took off with 500 meters to go. Romania held on for gold, New Zealand silver, and the Dutch took the bronze. Gevvie and Kristi rowed to fifth place, one of the highest ever United States finishes in the women's double sculls—especially impressive because the duo only started rowing together this spring. 

Romania - 6:41.03

New Zealand - 6:44.82

Netherlands - 6:45.73

Lithuania - 6:47.44

Canada - 6:53.19

In 2016, Gevvie took silver in the single sculls at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In celebration, Winsor hosted Gevvie Stone Day (pictured) where the Olympian signed autographs for Winsor students, showed off her hard-won silver hardware, and even cut into a celebratory cake with her photo on it. 

This time around, Gevvie represented the United States in the women's double sculls at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Gevvie’s lineage in the singles paid off. In an interview with row2k, Gevvie shared, “The single is great training for the double, and I also think that having a regatta under your belt is really helpful going into doubles trials, because there's nothing like racing a 2K regatta on the water. I do think that singles trials are the best preparation for doubles trials.”

The pair finished third in the semifinals. Gevvie and Kristi got off the line in sixth position but were able to close the gap by the midway point of the race. In the third 500 meters, they moved into a qualifying position and tried to close the gap on the two leading crews.

Netherlands – 7:08.09

Canada – 7:09.44

France – 7:12. 68

Australia – 7:15.25

Germany – 7:20.44

Looking ahead to the finals, Gevvie shared, “One of the guys we row with wrote us an email and said the semifinal is like the Wednesday of the workweek, and it's kind of true. It's really hard, and it's not the most fun race because you have to get through it to get to the fun part on the other side.”

The ‘fun part’ is almost here. Wondering how you can lend your support to Gevvie and other athletes at the games? Head to your favorite social platform.

“I will say that family and friends have been really great about reaching out. It would be a lot harder if we didn't have the social media that we have and technology that we have today to be able to call up someone, even though they're across the world, they're awake and ready.”

Gevvie’s teammate added, “She is a fierce competitor, and she means business, and every day getting to practice with her has been amazing.”

Locals may be able to see the duo in action this fall. Rumor has it they are considering racing at Head of the Charles. “I don't know if I'll be able to convince her,” Kristi shared. “I don't think so—she's very gung-ho on the masters' single at the Head of the Charles. But it's just been quite the pleasure.”

This will be Gevvie’s last Olympic games, so don’t look for her to return for Paris 2024. After Tokyo, she is flying home, then down to NBC Universal in Florida for a vacation and an Olympic party with her boyfriend and other teammates, including Kristi. 

Come August 9, Dr. Gevvie will don her scrubs again and return to the ER to begin the last two years of her residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.