UW alum steers U.S. men's crew to 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

The U.S. men’s eight crew qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Tuesday, and there's a boy in the boat that Washingtonians need to keep an eye out for this summer.

The 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta was held in Lucerne, Switzerland on Tuesday. According to USRowing, the U.S. men’s eight failed to qualify at last year’s world championships and needed a top-two finish at Tuesday’s regatta to become Paris-bound. Fortunately for them, they did it, and guiding the team to victory is University of Washington alumni Rielly Milne.

University of Washington alumni and U.S. Men's Eight Crew coxswain Rielly Milne. (Photo: Chloe Gage)

Milne, who’s from Woodinville, Washington, was a coxswain at UW from 2014-2018, where he stacked multiple achievements including being named to the 2018 All-Pac-12 team, second-team Academic All-Pac-12 and the IRA All-Academic team.

FOX 13 got the chance to interview Milne to see what was going on in his mind after the qualifying victory.

"It’s going to be a big one. We’re really excited. I think all the guys are excited to perform well," said Milne. "It’s easy to kind of get complacent at this point because we did win the qualifier, and we’re all excited, but we do have to step on the gas again and get ready to attack it. It’s not going to be easy until Paris, so we’re excited to get after training again."

In rowing, the coxswain sits at the stern of the boat. He or she is typically the smallest and lightest member of the team and calls out orders to the rowers to control speed, steering, timing, and fluidity. While the rowers have their backs facing where the boat is heading, the coxswain is the only one aboard who faces forward. Though there are many important roles in a men’s eight crew, the coxswain is often considered to be the most crucial.

"I’m the coxswain of the men’s eight, so I basically steer, give direction on the race plan, motivation, and just kind of walk them through the race", said Milne. "There’s multiple roles, kind of management off the water, make sure everyone’s at the right place at the right time."

Photo of Rielly Milne from University of Washington Athletics.

Milne says his leadership abilities are attributed to years of experience with rowing.

"It was about 14 years ago that I first started," said Milne. "I was on four national teams before I made the actual Olympic team. I was actually fortunate to win a world championship before, so I’ve been through the highs and lows of racing. I think that’s kind of the biggest reason why I was picked for this team. I’m really fortunate to be here. It’s a great group of guys that I know pretty well as well."

U.S. Men's Eight Crew qualifies for 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Photo: Chloe Gage, Lucerne, Switzerland)

Tuesday’s regatta wasn’t Milne’s first time competing in Switzerland or at an international level. The last time he was in Lucerne was in 2018 when he coxed the men’s eight crew at the World Rowing Cup III, finishing fourth in the A final. In 2017, he won a bronze medal with the U.S. men’s four with coxswain at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He was named to the 2018 U.S. Under-23 National team in the eight crew.

Though Milne’s rowing resume is fit for gold, there’s a lot of work to be done to reach the podium.

"The British are two-time world champions, and they still have the same lineup, so obviously, they’re going to be fantastic," said Milne. "Then the Dutch and Australians will be strong. They medaled at the world championship last year. And then who knows what Germany puts together."

U.S. Men's Eight Crew. (Photo: Chloe Gage)

By now, people across Washington state are likely familiar with the New York Times bestseller "Boys in the Boat", which is based on a true story about the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team that defied all odds to capture the gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Actor George Clooney would later direct a film based on the story.

Milne knows a thing or two about the Boys in the Boat.

"I’ve read the book and I think I saw [the movie] on opening night. It was great," said Milne. "I mean, back in college, we talked about it so often – we had to actually learn the entire lineup when we were freshmen. We had to shave our heads as well, kind of in their honor – which was crazy. I’m happy to be a part of it. And it’s just wild to be a UW alumni again and our coach is also a UW alumni. He’s the current coach at UW, and he will also be coaching us at the Olympics too, so a lot of connections there."

It’s been a long road getting to the Olympic Games, and Milne says he could not have gotten here without the support from his family and the community.

The Summer Olympic Games in Paris start on Friday, July 26. Milne and the U.S. men’s eight will compete on Monday, July 29.