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At work or as an athlete, Brett Sickler sees the importance of being a positive role model, “Like rowing, working is full of individual and team ideals,” she says. “You need to be hardworking, open to learn from mistakes and ready to achieve the best.” |
At work or as an athlete, Brett Sickler sees the importance of being a positive role model, “Like rowing, working is full of individual and team ideals,” she says. “You need to be hardworking, open to learn from mistakes and ready to achieve the best.”
Balancing Training with Life
Brett, 25, from Los Gatos, California, and men’s rower Chris Liwski, 28, from Sarasota, Florida, are in Beijing with their respective U.S. Rowing teams. While they trained with their teammates in Princeton, New Jersey, both worked at Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Chris held a position in the law department, while Brett worked with the global Olympic marketing team. Johnson & Johnson is the official health care sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Brett, an alternate for the U.S. women’s rowing team and Chris, an alternate for the U.S. men’s team, must remain race-ready in case they’re called upon to fill in for a sick or injured teammate in Beijing. Being a world-class athlete requires that you dedicate yourself almost completely to training and competition. It’s a demanding balancing act requiring support from family, friends, schools and employers.
Brett's Journey
Brett never realized how far rowing would take her. She was just looking for a way to stay fit in the off-season from basketball during high school when her mother suggested she try it. She attended the University of Michigan on a scholarship, rowed all four years of college, finished second in the NCAA competition her sophomore year and third her junior year. “I was named an All American, a huge personal goal,” says Brett. But after graduation and working in Washington, D.C. she left everything behind to train with the team in New Jersey and has enjoyed her time here. After the Games are over, she will continue training and coaching with an ultimate eye towards pursuing a graduate degree in sports administration.
Chris' Journey
Chris, at 6’7”, also played basketball until his older brother’s rowing coach recruited him to try rowing. It was the first of many opportunities he chose to take, something he says defines him. After rowing in high school, Chris was offered a scholarship to attend and row for Syracuse University. Following college he took a year off of law school to compete with the under-23 national team and later served as an alternate for the U.S. men’s rowing team at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. That experience led him to Oxford University where he continued to compete while studying environmental policy.
After Beijing, Chris hopes to finally begin practicing law and is excited by the prospect of beginning an entirely new chapter of his life. Excited with what’s ahead, he voices a confident wisdom, “You roll with the punches and you find yourself someplace you can make a difference.”
Read more about the involvement of Johnson & Johnson with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games:
Johnson & Johnson at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
