Gabe Bergen, who was raised in 100 Mile House, helped Canada’s men’s eight crew row to a silver medal at Eaton Dorney during the 2012 London Summer Olympics on Aug. 1.
Gabe was four years old when parents, Bob and Marilyn Bergen, move him and his brothers, Karel and Rob, to 100 Mile House.
Throughout the years, he played all the school sports and was involved in hockey, soccer and cross-country skiing.
His parents instilled athletics and a love for the outdoors in all three boys and it’s something they did as a family.
While going to Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (graduated in 2000), Gabe fell in love with basketball.
Noting his dad made the Canadian Olympic rowing team (finished 13th in men’s coxed pairs) in Montreal in 1976, Gabe says he wanted to “try to take a sport as far as I could as well.”
Bob notes Gabe dedicated himself to improving his skill and fitness levels.
“He was working out daily shooting the ball and doing the specialized fitness program for basketball. His dedication and drive to be the best he could be was obvious at this time.”
Gabe went on to play college basketball at Thompson Rivers University for two years, Bob says, but came to the conclusion he was never going to get the playing time he wanted even though the team captured the bronze medal at the national championships.
“I made the college basketball team [as a guard] in Kamloops, but decided I wanted to get into a sport that I had a chance of making a national team. Knowing that Bob was pretty good at rowing back in the day, I decided to go to University of Victoria [where the national rowing team trained] and start rowing.”
He quickly established himself as an up-and-coming rower and made the varsity rowing team in his second year. He was invited to try out for the national team at the end of his second year and remarkably made the team in his first attempt.
Gabe earned a seat in the men’s eight and helped the team to ninth-place finish during the World Championship in Great Britain in 2006.
For the next three years, however, his skills and strength at pulling two oars had him representing Canada in the pairs and quad shells.
He won a gold medal in pairs at Linz, Austria in the 2008 World Championship. That same year, however, Gabe suffered a huge disappointment when his quad failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics by less than a second.
Bob says Gabe took some time to reassess whether he wanted to train for another Olympics or call it a career. Fortunately, he chose the latter and dedicated himself to become a stronger and a better rower.
Gabe was back in the long boat and won a silver and bronze in the 2009 and 2010 World Championships.
While Canada was the defending men’s eight Olympic champions, the crew was also in a rebuilding process with newer and less-experienced rowers.
In the heat of this year’s World Championship, the future looked bright when Gabe and his crewmates shaved a half second off the world record set by the United States in Athens in 2004.
Gabe sits in the bow seat and he plays a significant role, as it’s his job to have his oar in the water first to relieve the drag for the rowers in front of him.
“In the bow, I have to pay attention to the balance of the boat, as well as picking the weight off the guy in front of me, so it doesn’t get too heavy in the stern.”
The boys had a disappointing start to the 2012 London Summer Olympics, as they finished dead last in their heat on July 28.
During the post-race interview, Gabe told the media “all the team members know they have to row better” if they were going to make it to the medal round.
“In the heat, we went off at too high of a rate and never settled into a good rhythm, so we were not able to respond to the other boats going through us.”
Gabe says he tries to stay calm before the races “because it’s a long race and you can really burn all your energy up if you are too hyped up for the race.”
It was a complete turn around for the repechage on July 30 when Gabe and his crewmates finished a strong second to the Brits to advance to the medal round.
“In the rep, we drove into a good power rhythm that was sustainable.”
They saved their best race for the final and it was an absolute gem that saw the Canadians get off to a great start and battled the German crew, which had gone undefeated since 2009, and Great Britain for the medals.
The Germans had a slight lead at the 1,000-metre mark and they switched leads with Britain at 1,500 metres. Then Germany moved ahead and Canada put together a surge with 250 metres to go and reeled in the Brits and was closing on Germany when they crossed the finish line.
“In the final, we just raised our game that little bit more to have our best race ever.
“All eight of us were on the same page in the final. It felt unbelievable to execute a really good race when it mattered the most.”
Gabe says winning the silver medal at the Olympics was very satisfying.
“The experience has been incredible, knowing that all the hard work over the last seven years paid off”.
He adds the experience was even more gratifying because his mom, dad, both his brothers, two uncles and two friends were there to watch the racing.
“They were having just as much fun as me when we crossed the finish line in second. Some of my family members and friends could barely talk for two days they were screaming so loud.
“It was so great to have all the family there and friends to join in with the celebration.”
Gabe has words of encouragement for anyone who wants to join the South Cariboo Rowing Club.
“It’s a sport that requires a lot of hard work with not many races, but when you go out and do the best you can, it’s one of the most rewarding sports.”
Gabe says he has always been proud to call 100 Mile House his home town.
“Thank you so much to the community of 100 Mile for all the support and recognition you have given me throughout my rowing career.”
