Add another name to the growing list of Stone family members who can call themselves individual champions of Boston's world-famous Head of the Charles Regatta.
Genevra "Gevvie" Stone, a 23-year-old Tufts medical student, followed in the footsteps of her parents by winning the women's championship singles race with a remarkable time of 19:12 at the 44th annual race on Oct. 19. Stone exceeded her No. 3 pre-race ranking by beating her next closest competitor, Liane Malcos of the Riverside Boat Club, by a solid six seconds.
On a blustery day on the Charles River, Stone faced tough competition on a course that she had worked hard to become more comfortable with.
"There were people there who had been on the Olympic team and I hadn't beaten before," Stone said. "The big thing for me was that I had done it before. I felt a little bit more comfortable this year, after having done it a year before and having taken a few practice runs down the river.
"Winning the race was great," she continued. "I had a great race for [my own standards], so that makes it a much more successful win. In terms of pulling hard and steering, it went very well."
Stone grew up attending the Head of Charles, an annual occasion to gather with friends and family. Her parents, Gregg and Lisa Stone, both took home their own respective singles championships 31 years ago in the 1977 race and have kept their families close to the famed regatta and its sport ever since.
Despite being unaware of her parents' similar accomplishments heading into the race, her family's close connections to the sport paid dividends on race day.
"I actually did not know that they had won the same event until after I had won it myself," Stone said. "It was pretty exciting to find that out after the race. I feel really lucky to have a family that is so supportive and successful in rowing."
"I think it's certainly an advantage; it's part of what the family does," Lisa Stone said. "Little bits and pieces fall into place along the way, and Gregg works hard with her on the water, but it's a pretty healthy situation and they have a lot of fun. I just think the experience he has in the singles race has really helped her to succeed because he has fun competing in that event, and he does whatever he can to help her have just as much fun and do as well as possible."
Gevvie Stone began training in the boat during her high school years after a discouraging career in women's lacrosse. She played an integral role on the 2006 national championship Varsity Eight crew with Princeton University and has been consistently ranked as one of top individual rowers in the country competing for the Cambridge Boat Club.
Upon leaving for medical school at Tufts, Stone thought about giving up the sport with her heavy workload potentially taking over the majority of the free time that she would use to train. Nevertheless, her personal discipline and commitment to the sport -- two key traits that have undoubtedly aided her success in the boat -- have kept her on the water.
"I think she's quite a disciplined person, so that works out well for her," Lisa Stone said. "It's nice for her to get out there and get a complete break from the academics for sure. At certain points it can be tough [with her schedule], but she's able to handle it and I think it makes her stronger."
Stone attributes part of her success to her parents' influence. While not necessarily coaching her every step along the way, they have proved invaluable to her evolution into a champion rower.
"I'm so fortunate to have the parents that I do," Stone said. "My dad has been a great influence on me because he is a huge competitor and has been fun to train with because we're about the same speed. They both know a lot about rowing and they can help me to achieve my goals. It's nice to have parents that have the crew vocabulary and that just want me to be successful in whatever I do."
Gregg Stone, a champion rower for the Harvard Crimson in the 1970s, trains with his daughter early in the morning before she heads off to tackle her rigorous medical school schedule. He also competes with her in local regattas, and recently both father and daughter raced in the Housatonic Regatta in New Haven, Conn., with Gevvie placing first in the Women's Open Singles race and Gregg taking second in the men's Single Masters event.
Having put together a successful year on the water, Stone now has her sights set on something much bigger. With the London Olympics in 2012 looming in the future, Stone plans to finish two more years of school before considering whether to train for the Games. This year she came up just short of qualifying to compete for her country in Beijing in the women's quadruple scull event and is certainly hungry for more if the future permits.
"The healthiest way to handle it is one day at a time," her mother said. "The Olympics in 2012 is certainly one of her goals, but you never know. A lot of things can happen between now and then. 2012 is definitely a hopeful goal but you never know, things change, so we'll see what happens."
"A lot of it is a matter of years," Stone said. "It's about spending as much time as possible on the water learning how to best handle the single. Every year you row, you keep learning and keep getting better. Most people on this year's Olympic team were about 26 or 27 years old, so I think my best years are still ahead of me."
