Kelly and Sullivan Named 2024 USRowing Under 23 Athletes of the Year

USRowing is pleased to announce that Kate Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./University of Virginia) has been named the 2024 USRowing Under 23 National Team Female Athlete of the Year, while Sam Sullivan (Boston, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) has been selected as this year's USRowing Under 23 National Team Male Athlete of the Year. 

Selected by the athletes and coaches of the team that competed at the 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in St. Catharines, Canada, Kelly and Sullivan will be recognized on Attager Row at the Head of the Charles on Saturday, October 19, at 5 p.m. 

A three-time under 23 national team member and four-time national team rower overall, Kelly won a silver medal as a member of the 2024 U23 women's eight. Kelly earned a bronze medal in the women’s four with coxswain in 2022 and raced in the women’s four in 2023.

“I am truly honored to be selected as the Female U23 Athlete of the Year,” said Kate Kelly. “I want to thank the people around me for making such a tremendous impact on who I am, both as an athlete and as a person. Thank you to my college coaches, Kevin Sauer and Kelsie Chaudoin, and my high school coach Richard Parr for always believing in my ability. Thank you to my national team coaches Sarah Trowbridge, Asiya Mahmud, and John Graves for continuing to push me to be my best at an international level. Additionally, thank you to my younger brother, Davis Kelly for always pushing me to be a better person and athlete, and for being someone who I always strive to be a role model for, and my family for always believing in me and giving me the support to row at such a high level.”

“Most importantly, thank you to my teammates at Virginia. My time at Virginia has been highlighted by the team that I had the privilege of being a part of. It was always an honor to practice and race with the sabers on my chest, and I will miss it every single day now that I have graduated. I hope to always live by the motto – ‘Entitled to nothing. Grateful for everything.’ Training with international caliber athletes for the past three summers is inspiring, to say the least. The women that I had the honor of training beside have taught me the power of working together as a unit towards one common goal. The power of pushing for one another is unlike any other drive in sport, and I feel as though I experienced that feeling this summer the second that I got on the water. I got lucky with the people that I got to race with this summer, and I can only hope to find a crew like that down the line. Thank you to the 2024 U23 women’s eight!”

Sullivan made his first appearance on the U23 national team this year, stroking the men’s eight to a silver medal. A junior at the The University of Pennsylvania, Sullivan led the eight to an early lead in the race in St. Catharines, before Great Britain’s strong move secured victory for them. 

“It is such an honor to be selected as USRowing Under 23 National Team Male Athlete of the Year. It's amazingly special to be recognized by such a talented and wonderful group of people. There's no other group of guys that I would've rather gone on this journey with. To be able to represent the U.S. on the world stage was the experience of a lifetime.”

“I'd like to thank all of my boatmates, teammates, and coaches on the U23 team for all of the work they put in and how great of a summer they made it. It's so special to be able to do this with my Penn teammates specifically. I have only gotten to where I am because of the work of my coaches and all of my teammates at Penn. I'd especially like to thank my mother, Cheryl, for her unwavering support and presence every step of the way. Thank you all!”

The announcements for the Senior, Para, and Beach Sprint Athlete of the Year will be announced later this week. 

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Centers.