Emily Delleman’s rise to Olympian started under an Iowa bridge: ‘I feel like I got really lucky’

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Emily Delleman’s rise to Olympian started under Iowa-Illinois’ I-74 bridge.

The Davenport Central High School alumnae will represent the United States at the Paris Olympics later this month after her Women’s Quadruple Sculls boat placed first at the Final Qualification Regatta in Switzerland at the end of May.

It’s the latest, and to date the greatest achievement in Delleman’s banner rowing career. She was a two-time All-American at Stanford University and has been named to seven national teams, and it all started at the Y Quad Cities Rowing Club in Moline, Illinois.

“I feel like I got really lucky to be a part of an amazing program in the Quad Cities at the YMCA in Moline,” Delleman said. “While I was there, Dr. Peter Sharis created an amazing program. It just so happened that I was sandwiched between his two daughters (Elizabeth and Caroline), who were really highly skilled athletes and rowed. (Dr. Sharis) rowed at Harvard and was an Olympian and was an insanely good coach.

“We trained in the Mississippi (River), down there by the arena, right under the I-74 bridge.”

The QC-based program produced several Division I rowers who went on to compete at Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Georgetown, Minnesota and Wisconsin, among others. 

Among Delleman’s most notable achievements was winning the U.S. junior double skulls crew gold medal in the Netherlands with Caroline Sharis in 2016.

“It was such an amazing group of people beyond the competition, but just creating memories, great friends and amazing experiences,” Delleman said. “To me, those are the things I remember most. We just had so much fun together.”

Do or die

Delleman has been in Northern Italy for the last week, preparing for the Summer Games in Paris at a high performance training center.

The U.S. team will head to Paris on July 22. Delleman and her teammates — Teal Cohen, Grace Joyce and Lauren O’Connor — will compete in a heat race on July 27, scheduled for 5:50 a.m. Central Time. It will be broadcast on USA Network and streamed on PEACOCK. The top two times in each of the three heats advance to the final. The rest compete in what is effectively a qualifier, known has a repechage, with the top three from that race advancing to the final.

Among the 10 teams qualified, defending gold medalist China, along with France, Great Britain, Canada and Ukraine are considered medal contenders. However, Delleman and the Americans defeated Ukraine at the regatta in May, when only the top two teams qualified for the Olympics.

Delleman said she and her teammates believe anything is possible when they get to France.

“I think we want to have the mentality like, it doesn’t matter, we’re going to show up and if we have our best race, anyone is beatable,” Delleman said. “We need to have that confidence and belief that we belong up there with the best teams.”

Delleman certainly earned her trip to Paris.

After not qualifying for the 2023 World Championships, she turned in strong individual performances at the 2023 Fall Speed Order and 2024 Winter Speed Order competitions to earn an invitation to the Women’s Quadruple Sculls Olympic Trials. After a “rigorous and intense” selection process, Delleman was named to the quadruple sculls boat and the rest is history.

“There’s no easy path, of course, but to be able to come through like we did against such tough competitors, was gratifying,” said Delleman, who sits in the third position from the front of the boat and is responsible for the calls during a race.

During the leadup to major competitions, a daily training regiment can run four to five hours nearly every day.

“Typically, it’s two training sessions with a lot of cardio, rowing or cross training … and a lot of core stability work or lifting,” Delleman said. “It will ebb and flow depending on the point in the (competition) cycle, but I feel like we always do two-a-days six times a week.”

Life outside the boat

Delleman is just as busy on land as she is at sea. 

She lives at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont, a top training facility for rowers, cross-country skiers and other elite athletes.

She uses her degree from Stanford in human biology in a variety of ways, including on a study project through the renowned university on parenting and family dynamics. She also works as a health and performance coach.

“It is busy, but I enjoy it,” she said.

While this is her first trip to the Olympics, it may not be her last. At 26 years old, Delleman is still young in the rowing game. Typically, women are at their competitive peak in their late 20s to early 30s, and it’s not uncommon to excel into their 40s in rowing.

Delleman said USRowing High Performance Director Josy Verdonkschot has set up a program that allows athletes to have a life outside of the demanding sport where they're able to also focus on their careers and start families, if they choose. 

When she gets to Paris, she’ll have plenty of support. Her mom (Jane), dad (Tom) and sister (Annie) will be there, along with other relatives and friends from back home where she still feels the love.

“I think back to Davenport Central and how we made a concerted effort to just being involved in the community, whether it was in sports or in church or anything else,” Delleman said. “To have those connections, and the support from so many people back in the Quad Cities is really cool.”