Freshman Frida Carlsson Crushing Competition
By David Villavicencio
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Frida Carlsson likes to win.
The people in her hometown of Vanersborg, Sweden might describe Carlsson as “mycket konkurrenskraftig” or highly competitive.
The freshman’s drive to be the best has already helped her become one of the top rowers on the 2013-14 University of Miami rowing team.
Carlsson was a member of the crew that took first place in the Championship 8+division at the 2013 Head of the Hooch with a time of 16:07.7. She also contributed to an eighth place finish in the Championship 4+ at the 2013 Head of the Hooch with a time of 18:16.6.
“I love winning,” Carlsson said. “It was fun and I like competing with my teammates.”
She also won Miami rowing’s annual triathlon. The event consists of 7500m on the ERG or ergometer, a machine used to simulate the action of rowing, doing a workout on stairs and finishing a 1600m run around the track at Cobb Stadium. Carlsson accomplished the feat in 1:04.32 to place herself atop the leaderboard.
Carlsson has enjoyed her time in Miami. After growing up in Sweden, her first taste of the United States has been a good one.
“It’s been interesting to come to America because it’s my first time for me,” Carlsson said. “I like the whole college life and student-athlete thing. It’s been so fun. I don’t regret it at all.”
The freshman has had a great experience since she arrived in Miami prior to the start of the Fall semester. Carlsson cannot help but get excited when she thinks of all the positives associated with her new home.
“The weather, I never have to think about being cold,” Carlsson said. “And we get so much help from everywhere and I’m not used to that.”
Carlsson is an accomplished sculler that has brought home medals to her home club at Vanersborgs Roddklubb from regattas throughout the country. But the formerly individual athlete has had to learn what it is like to be part of a team.
“I always ran a single and not in a team, so that was the biggest difference to come to a team and adjust to being a teammate,” Carlsson said. “I didn’t think I could do it that well as I did, but I like being a teammate.”
One of the biggest adjustments for Carllson has been learning to row with others. In the past, she could make adjustments to help herself. Now she must adjust according to what is best for her boat.
“I’ve always been doing things that I think is the right thing for me,” Carlsson said. “Now I do stuff where maybe it doesn’t include me that much and it is more about improving the team. That’s hard to understand at first. My instinct was always to do what’s best for me.”
Carlsson represented Sweden at the 2012 Junior World Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and she has already gotten her Hurricane career off to an excellent start.
But all of her success has not made her complacent. Carlsson is always working to get better at her craft.
“I have a lot to improve in my technique, especially on the erg,” Carlsson said. “I feel like I have a lot to improve, if I compare myself to my teammates. The erg is my weakest point.”
As Carlsson prepares for her first championship season, she envisions being part of the group that takes Miami rowing to unprecedented levels of success.
“I want to go to NCAAs with Miami and win there as a team,” Carlsson said.
The desire to be the best is something Carlsson cannot diminish. She wants to take her team to the top of the collegiate rowing summit. But she also has individual goals to accomplish at Miami.
“Individually, my dream is to stroke,” Carlsson said. “I want to stroke the boat, that’s just what I want to do. Maybe that’s not best for the team and if that is the case, then I don’t think I should do it. But my dream is to get there. I want to be the perfect stroker.”
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