Brothers Sam and James O'Connor haven't raced together since they won the Tail of the Charles together last fall, but they will race together again in Harvard's top boat at this weekend's Head of the Charles.

What is it with the O’Connor brothers and bikes?

Bicycles seem to bring misfortune to senior Sam O’Connor and junior James O’Connor, top rowers on the Harvard men’s heavyweight crew team.

“There’s something about those O’Connors and bike accidents,” junior Josh Hicks said. “We need to keep them away.”

After each rower sustained a bicycle-related injury last year, Sam and James are finally healthy and ready to compete this coming weekend at Head of the Charles.

Not only will the brothers be competing, they will be competing together in the Crimson’s top boat. Sam and James will be rowing in the same boat for the first time in almost a year.

HISTORY

The O’Connor brothers grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Coming from a rowing family, Sam and James each competed in high school.  The brothers excelled and went on to compete together for New Zealand at the World Junior Rowing Championships.

At Harvard, the brothers’ legacies have continued.  Sam rowed in the first varsity eight all spring of his sophomore year, helping his boat to win eastern sprints and the Ladies’ Challenge Plate at the Royal Henley Regatta.  In addition, his boat finished in fourth place at the IRA National Championships.

James also rowed in the first varsity eight his sophomore year, in the bow seat, after rowing in the first freshman eight the previous year.  His boat went undefeated in the dual season, winning the Sprints championship and taking silver at the IRA National Championships.

In the 2010 season, the first time that both O’Connor brothers were enrolled at Harvard, they rowed separately.  It is a team convention that rowers spend their first year competing in freshman boats.

Last year, when the duo was anticipating a full year of rowing together, a shocking incident changed the rowers’ plans for the season.

INJURY

“I was bicycling at home over winter break, approaching an intersection,” Sam described. “A car ran through a red light pretty fast and hit me side-on.  I crashed into the windshield and went flying.”

Sam has only a vague memory of what happened between the crash and waking up in the ambulance.  This freak accident affected mostly his head and shoulders.  Sam went to the hospital in his native New Zealand and was treated for a dislocated shoulder.  When Sam returned to campus in January, he underwent shoulder surgery, causing him to sit out all of the spring season.

Ironically, Sam turned to cycling—the very activity that caused his injury—to help stay in shape when he could not row.  Sam explained that cycling and rowing involve similar engagement of the leg muscles.

“I was training with the cycling team a lot,” Sam noted.  “I enjoyed training with the team but rowing was always my priority.  My goal was to come back as soon as I was in good shape again.”

Sam’s cycling efforts paid off this summer when he won the Minnesota state championships twice.

“He’s just a machine,” Hicks said of Sam. “When he was coming back, he’d be on the stationary bike before you came and after you left … we were always sure that he’d come back fighting fit.”

As Sam’s interest in cycling continued to develop, he turned his brother onto the activity as well.  Sam arranged for James to have a road bike this past summer for his internship in Washington, D.C., but James’ biking also resulted in injury.

“I was biking after work one day in the pouring rain,” James said.  “I hit a pothole and my bike stopped, but I didn’t. I went right over the handlebars. I got up and checked the bike; I figured it was probably more expensive than I am.”

Originally James thought the accident just caused some scrapes and bruises.  But, within a few days, he started experiencing significant pain in the abdomen and had trouble breathing.  James went to the emergency room for an x-ray, which showed he had broken one rib and fractured another.

As both O’Connor brothers fought to overcome injury and return to rowing this season, they relied on each other for support and motivation.

“It is not that often that I’ll ask James to row with me and he will say no, or vice versa,” Sam said. “We train pretty hard.”

REUNITED AND READY TO RACE

Exactly a year ago at the Head of the Charles, the O’Connor brothers competed together to take second place in the Championship Eight event and first at the Tail of the Charles.  Now, Sam and James are healthy again and excited to row this weekend.

“I am just happy to be back racing,” Sam said. “I am looking forward to more of that this season.”

Two particular members of the Head of the Charles crowd will make the race an even more special event for the brothers.

“We are excited to have Mom and Dad here this weekend,” James shared.  “This is the first time our mom is visiting us at college.”

With a bit of reluctance, both Sam and James admitted to having bikes on campus.

Hopefully, the brothers will wear their helmets and use caution the next time they head out for a ride.