Billy will graduate from Dartmouth in 2025 and will compete in the men's pairs rowing event at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Trials with Oliver Babb. Billy will compete in the M2- event with Evan Olson in 2023, placing 5th and qualifying to represent the U.S. in Paris.
1. What made you decide to join a rowing practice for the first time? Was there any memorable experience?
Our next door neighbor, Blair Brooks, was the beginners coach at Hanover High School. I later learned that he was also captain of Harvard's “Rude and Smooth” team, which was undefeated in all four years of collegiate races. He got my older brother to row because he was tall, then my sister, then me, and finally my brother. All of us continued rowing in college except for my sister.
Nothing dramatic happened on the first day, but I remember being very concerned about the order in which we sat in the rowing tank in the basement of the alumni gym. Especially at first, there were no assigned seats, so it seemed really important to everyone, rowers and all. I think it's one of those things that you don't realize was important until much later.
2. During practices, races and other events, did you ever fall in love with the sport or realize that rowing might not be so bad after all? When did you realize you could make the national team?
In high school, I always loved rowing but I wasn't very good at it. The public school I went to, Hanover High, had a great program – great equipment, coaches, facilities, etc., but because it was a public school, we only practiced once a day, and only in the spring. By my senior year of high school, they added semi-regular winter captain practices on the ergometer, but it was still far less than the private high school students we competed against.
Benders fondling Dartmouth College in the 2022 IRA
In high school I always loved practicing and wished I could practice more. I think that was because the amount of practice was so minimal compared to college and senior programs. I also was lucky to have great coaches and great teammates. Now there are definitely times when I'm in a big hole physically and it's hard to maintain that youthful enthusiasm.
After the 2023 Winter Speed Orders I first seriously considered the possibility of making the senior team. Coincidentally I was racing with my current pairs partner Oliver Babb and we finished third, securing us both an invitation to the first selection camp of the season. Racing against and beating many of the best rowers in the country gave me the confidence that I could compete at senior level.
3. What was your best and worst race/practice?
I've had a lot of great races in my career. The most memorable ones were the 2021 IRA and the 2022 Henley. I was with great guys at both and I was very happy with both results. On the other hand, I also had a lot of cold, rainy and tough training and racing, but that's part of the sport and I don't remember the bad times as much as the good ones.
4. What is the best thing you have done in sports, or something that no one knows about?
My sophomore year of high school, I won the Methuen City Sprint double. It was a 1km race against a team with two seniors and I was supposed to lose, but I passed them at the start and hung on for the rest of the race. It wasn't a very prestigious event, but I was excited at the time.
5. What advice would you give to young rowers?
Consistent effort over a long period of time is very powerful. Results won't happen overnight, and they won't come in a completely linear fashion, but effort and results are highly correlated until you reach a very high level. You don't have to do something crazy every day, but consistency is key.
home town: Norwich, Vermont
Club Affiliation: California Rowing Club
date of birth: June 9, 2001
height: 6 feet 5 inches
weight: 200 pounds
Undergraduate education: Dartmouth, 2025
National Team: 3 – Under 23, 2021, Senior, 2023, Olympic, 2024
International Results: Finished 10th in pairs at the 2024 World Cup II…Finished 5th in pairs at the 2023 World Championships…Won a silver medal in eight at the 2021 World Under-23 Championships.
National results: 2024 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials – Pairs winner in rowing…Pairs winner at the 2023 U.S. Rowing Senior National Team Trials, placed second in the Championship Eight at the 2021 Head of the Charles Regatta…Placed third in the Varsity Eight at the 2021 IRA National Championships.
Personal: Billy likes hiking, downhill skiing and doing crosswords. His neighbor is Billy's beginner coach and was captain of Harvard's 1975 “Rude and Smooth” crew. Billy's older brother rowed for Colgate and competed in the Under-23 World Championships in pairs in 2013. Billy got his brother hooked on the sport, and Billy followed suit. Billy cites the men's eight-man race in Athens in 2004 as his favorite Olympic moment.
Bender and Babb to race in 2024 U.S. M2-World Cup II
