Legacy Rutgers Men Rowing Olympians and National Champions
A timely post as we are midway through these Rio Olympic Games. For those of you more recent additions to the Rutgers Rowing family, some pics of just a few of the many Rutgers Rowing Olympians over the years. In these pics: Bob Kaehler, Jeff Klepacki, M Sean Hall, Jim Neil, Dave Collins, and Jen Dore-Terhaar (married to Tom Terhaar, coach of the US Women's Rowing dynasty. Tom is yet another Rutgers Rowing alum).
We have a long and proud history of Olympians that begins with Chuck Logg and Tom Price in 1952 that runs to 2008 with Sam Stitt as an athlete and continues to this day with US Women's Head Coach Tom Terhaar. Rutgers has had Olympic rowers/coaches in at least the following games: 1952, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016. That's a 40-year unbroken streak!
Pictured to the left is Tom Price, Chuck Logg, Jr. and Rutgers head coach Chuck Logg, Sr. on the dock. The bow of their pair without coxswain shell currently hangs
in the crew office which is located in the College Avenue Gym. They truly were a "Cinderella" crew. Price, 19 at the time, had just finished his freshman crew season at Rutgers, his first year in the sport and Logg had just completed his senior year. The oarsmen and coach pooled their resources and purchased a Pocock shell in June, 1952. Logg and Price surprised everyone at summer regattas on the East Coast and then at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. They were not considered to be medal contenders at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games after finishing 4th in their opening qualification heat. That was their last defeat as they went on to win the next two qualifying races and the grand final race by over one boat length and take home an Olympic gold medal
Rutgers Crew @ the White House! Fred Borchelt '76 and three-time Olympian ('76, '80, '84) is pictured shaking hands with POTUS Jimmy Carter (with FLOTUS Rosalynn Carter looking on) at an event hosted at the White House to honor the 1980 US Olympic Team. Sadly, that was the year the US boycotted the Moscow games; however, four years later, Fred qualified for the Olympic team for a third, yes *third* time and went on to win a Silver Medal in the Men's Olympic Eight at the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. And ---> another WH photo-op, this time with POTUS Ronald Reagan and FLOTUS Nancy Reagan.
Fred has also been inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Rowing Hall of Fame and is currently enjoying making a positive difference with students as a Physics teacher. In addition to all of the foregoing, Fred has authored two well-received and highly-regarded books on rowing. Congratulations Fred!
Continuing the celebration of the 10 Rutgers University graduates who have been inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame (NRHOF), the Rutgers Crew Facebook page recognizes the outstanding achievements of David Collins, Class of 1991. While on the Banks, Dave was a three-year varsity letter winner and a member of the lightweight eight which fi
nished fifth three years in a row at the EARC Eastern Sprints. During his junior and senior years Dave captained the lightweight team. Following the 1991 Sprints, Dave won the pair event at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships. He was subsequently honored with the Outstanding Athletic Achievement Award by Rutgers in recognition of winning a National Championship at the IRAs. Following his graduation with a degree in Industrial Engineering, Dave was selected to compete on six United States National Rowing teams. He won a bronze medal at the 1991 World Championships and represented the National Team in the 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 World Championships. 
Dave won a total of seven United States National Rowing titles, including a gold medal in the lightweight eight at the 1995 Pan-American Games in Argentina. In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Dave’s lightweight four won the bronze medal, and he became the fourth Rutgers rowing Olympian to have won a medal at the Olympic Games. Dave is shown pictured standing on the far right with his Olympic teammates and in their boat's bow position as well as on the far right during his NRHOF induction ceremony as a member of the bronze medal winning lightweight men’s coxless four at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Congratulations to Dave Collins!
Tom Terhaar, Class of 1991.
In 2014, Tom was inducted into the NRHOF as the coach of the U.S. women’s eight that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (pictured in this post along with photos of Tom).
After a historic coaching run with US Rowing, in 2022, Tom joined the staff at Columbia University where he currently serves as Director of Rowing. Congratulations to Tom Terhaar!
The lightweight men’s crew has had success winning several medals at the Eastern Sprints throughout the years. In 1984 and 2000, the lightweights competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. In 2000, the crew went as far as the semi-finals at the Henley.
In 2003, the Rutgers Heavyweight Men advanced to the Final of the Henley Royal Regatta. In their race to the Final, the varsity defeated crews from Dartmouth and the Leander Club of London. In 2005, the Heavyweight Men’s Four was silver medalists at the IRA Championship Regatta.
Bob Kaehler ‘86 earned his way into the Gold-Medal favored Men’s Eight, which has won an unprecedented three World Championships in a row leading up to the Olympic Games in Sydney. Kaehler is a ten-time national team member and three-time Olympian. He has won four World Championship gold medals in the men’s eight, the most ever by an American. He was also named US Rowing’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1998. At Rutgers, Kaehler graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.
Jeff Klepacki '90
Klepacki ‘90 was also a member of the Men’s Eight in Sydney and three-time Olympian. Klepacki was named the 1994 US Rowing Male Athlete of the Year after stroking the US Men’s Eight to a gold medal at the World Championships. At Rutgers, he was the captain of the crew team and named MVP in 1990, while earning a degree in economics.
Sean Hall
Sean Hall ‘89 was a member of the Men’s Quadruple Sculls for the Sydney Olympics. He is a nine-time national team member and three-time Olympian. Hall was a member of the men’s eight that won the 1994 World Championships. Sean graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Political Science.
Charlie Butt ‘83 and Tom Terhaar ‘91 were both named to the Olympic coaching staff. Butt coached the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls, while Terhaar headed the Women’s Quadruple Sculls. Butt was also a past rower of the Lightweight National Team.
1996 Atlanta Olympics
All four of the Rutgers athletes that participated in the Sydney Olympics also were members of the Atlanta Olympic Team, along with:
David Collins ‘91 was a member of the Lightweight Men’s Coxless Four. Dave became the only Rutgers oarsman to earn an Olympic medal in Atlanta, when his four won the bronze medal. Dave was a five-time national team member. At Rutgers, Dave was a member of the Lightweight Team, but won the IRA Championship in the open pair event.
Other Rutgers Olympians
Tom Price (‘55) and Chuck Logg (‘52)
Jim Neil ‘90 was named one of the sweep rowing spares for the 1996 Olympics. A nine-time national team member, Jim also was a member of the 1992 Olympics in the four with coxswain. Jim won the gold medal in the pair with coxswain at the 1999 World Championships.
Fred Borchelt ‘76
Borchelt was a three-time Olympian (‘76, ‘80, ‘84), winning a silver medal in the men’s eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Chuck Logg ‘52 was a member of the only US pairs without coxswain crew to win an Olympic gold medal. Chuck, son of the Rutgers crew coach, was paired up with Tom Price a Scarlet Knight teammate of his to win the gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Tom Price ‘55 was only a Rutgers freshman when he won the gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Price and Logg shocked the country and the world with their win at the US trials and then the Olympics. It was fitting that their pair-oared shell was named “Cinderella” before their gold-medal run.
Rutgers has a rich Olympic and National Team history as many other Scarlet Knight rowers have made the US National Team, including:
John Bannon ‘73
Max Borghard ‘87
Leslie Burns-Rawley ‘93
Peter Cartmell ‘73 Chuck Crawford ‘72
Kevin Dengel ‘97
Robert Friedrich ‘97
Sharon Kriz ‘98
Fran McGovern ‘87
Scott McKee ‘82
Mike Morrison ‘85
Neil O’Donnell ‘97
Will Porter ‘89
Peter Simone ‘75
Maite Urtasun ‘01
Tom West ‘85
