What was once a far-fetched dream she did not even believe was possible at first is now within reach for Ohio native Felice Mueller.
A rower for Team USA, Mueller will compete alongside Grace Luczak in Heat 3 of the women’s coxless pair event in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday morning in an effort to make the semifinal round on Wednesday morning all in hopes of making it to Friday’s Finals at Lagoa Stadium.
“I’m going down there to race and go fast and nothing’s going to get in my way,” Mueller said prior to making the trip to Rio de Janeiro. “It’s hard and it’s a lot of really hard work, but it pumps you up so much.”
A native of Gates Mills, Mueller’s journey to the Olympics started at the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut, and despite the confidence of her mentors, she initially did not know how to feel about pursuing the sport on an international level.
“I had an incredible high school coach,” Mueller recalled. “She told me she could see me going to the Olympics one day, and I could remember her pulling me into her office one day and telling me that. I came out kind of shaking, in disbelief and almost thought it was funny that she said that. She definitely began to plant the seed for things to come.”
Motivated by the meeting with her coach, Mueller dedicated herself to the sport of rowing and earned a chance to compete for the University of Michigan. After competing with the Wolverines, Mueller won a gold medal in the coxless four event at the 2013 World Rowing Championships.
Since winning gold in 2013, Mueller has turned her focus toward Rio and believes she and Luczak have what it takes to succeed in the Olympics.
“We have been teammates since we were on the 2007 Junior National Team,” Mueller said. “We were in the pair at the Under-23 World Championships and set a world record and won, and now, we’re back together. I’m thrilled to be rowing with her. I usually call the race plan and she knows what I mean. We’ve practiced so many times and visualized that it’s kind of second nature.”
Although Mueller has been away from Cleveland while training for the Olympics, she watched the Cavaliers win the NBA Championship for the first time in their history, and she aims to add her name to the list of successful Northeast Ohio athletes in 2016.
“Go Cleveland. We knew we could do it,” Mueller said. “I’m so proud that I can be an ambassador for our country and go represent us overseas.”