While O’Leary defers praise to the athletes, rowers cite O’Leary herself as the motivating force behind their victories.

“Not many teams go to the NCAAs every year, and I think that really speaks to her success,” said heavyweight co-captain Sarah Psutka. “She continually makes the team deeper and stronger.”

O’Leary’s emphasis on persistent recruiting has resulted in all-around depth that places Radcliffe among the elite.

“We have rowers in our third boat who could easily be in our first or second,” Psutka said.

Psutka added that the mentality of “team success above all,” while strongly echoed by all team members, was initially presented by O’Leary.

Heavyweight co-captain Courtney Brown was instantly drawn to the unique Radcliffe atmosphere on her recruiting trip four years ago. She recalled the way she sat in the crew office with O’Leary and then-novice coach Hallie Gilman and was constantly interrupted by rowers coming in to say hello.

“I could tell right off the bat that this was a place where people enjoy themselves,” she said.

The fact that O’Leary will be sharing the river with her rowers this weekend is consistent with her stance as both a leader and a colleague. Her dual identity is evident in how she guides her rowers as well as how she views her accomplishments.

“The highlights for me are the highlights for the athletes,” O’Leary said. “It’s not so much what I’ve done as it is a reflection of what the athletes themselves have done. When you have an incredibly motivated, talented, hard-working group of women who love doing this, and they’re good at it, that kind of commitment will make you successful.”

Juggling Act

Like her rowers, O’Leary attempts to maintain a balance between crew and other interests. The mother of two young boys, finding time for herself apart from all her duties can be something of a challenge.

“I don’t know the last time I went out to a movie,” she said, laughing.

She has, however, had time to appear in one. In a rare vacation from Radcliffe, O’Leary volunteered her talents as a coach and stand-in for Meryl Streep in the 1993 movie The River Wild.

For encouragement and advice on juggling a full schedule of family, recruiting and coaching, O’Leary counts on men’s crew coach Harry Parker and women’s basketball coach Kathy Delaney-Smith She values her relationships above all.

“My family and this team, these are the important things,” O’Leary said.

Her passion for personal connections is echoed in the way she motivates her rowers. Pstuka recalls a favorite quote of O’Leary’s: “Sometimes you gotta go out there and just love it.”