Jacob Plihal's Unconventional Path to Paris

Jacob Plihal had an unconventional path to the sport of rowing and now he will be representing Team USA in Paris.  

Jacob grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Measuring in at six feet ten inches tall, he was primed for classic high school sports like basketball and baseball. After a freak baseball accident where he dislocated his kneecap and required surgery, he found himself having to rehabilitate his leg. His physical therapist recommended rowing, and eventually suggested he take rowing seriously. His initial reaction was to reject the spandex and early morning rowing practices and focus on basketball, but after trying rowing at a local club, he found that rowers were the type of people he wanted to be around—for the camaraderie and the mutual desire to work hard.

Jacob went on to row at Northeastern University. During his post college career, he rowed at Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before joining the Green Racing Project (GRP) in Craftsbury, Vermont. Jacob rowed under the GRP green and white stripes, first as a U23 athlete, and steadily grew as a rower. This led him to the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta earlier this year in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he earned his place on the US team.  

Jacob is one of four GRP athletes representing the US in the 2024 Olympics. Being a GRP rower has allowed Jacob to not only reap the benefits of a great rowing community, but also that of the cross-country skiing, biathlon and running communities. This has enabled him to cross-train with experts in their fields and have the opportunity to get away from rowing when a mental break is needed.  

In college, Jacob rowed in the 8+ and was a strong athlete and thought taking on the single would be a good move. “I had a pretty good erg score in college and figured it would translate right to the single, but there’s more to rowing in the single than your erg score. There’s obviously technique in the 8+, but feedback and changes in the single are more noticeable.” This quest to improve as an individual and not as one member of the 8+, has pushed Jacob to work on the nuisances of the single. Jacob has made great friends in the rowing world and noted that, “Your biggest rivals can be your best friends."

Jacob says, “There is no such thing as the perfect stroke. It’s a constant quest." His training involves working closely with his coaches and he looks for real-time feedback on the water, even reviewing rowing video from the 3000-meter stretch on Great Hosmer Pond in Craftsbury to look for small changes to be made.

Although Jacob holds the 19-29 2000-meter world record on the Concept2 Slide with a time of 5:41.8, he "doesn't love all-out erg tests,” preferring instead a 5 x 5000 meter steady state when it comes to workouts (or ‘when they’re done', he jokes).  

When asked to offer advice to young rowers Jacob said, “I thought the knee injury was the end of my athletic career, and it ended up opening a lot of doors I was not expecting to walk through. Something terrible really pivoted me to the East coast and rowing, to where I am now. Stuff I never would have guessed. A setback in life can present opportunities." He encourages anyone interested in rowing to give it a try, because you never know what may click for you.

For a video of Jacob training, see our Youtube channel.