Devery Karz Realizes Rio Dream
May 04, 2016 | Women's Rowing
Former Oregon State University rower Devery Karz realized a lifelong dream in late April when she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the women's lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Trials in Sarasota, Fla.
“It is a pretty incredible feeling,” Karz said. “Putting four years into a goal and having it all come to a head on one day, it's a big moment.”
A graduate of Park City (Utah) High School, Karz originally teamed with Michelle Sechser in 2015 to qualify the LW2x boat to the Olympics. However, without a spot in the boat secured, Karz went back to work with four other rowers to identify the best pairing to represent the United States in the Rio Games. Karz ended up teaming with Kate Bertko and posted the fastest times all week leading up to the Olympic Trials.
“Qualifying the boat was extremely challenging,” she said. “The level at the qualification regatta is so incredibly high. It was extremely gratifying to succeed in progressing the LW2x to the Olympics for USA.
“After that, it was hard to accept that even though I had qualified the boat it did not mean that I had a seat in it for the 2016 Olympics. Being able to see myself through to the Games is an amazing achievement.”
“This crew wouldn't have happened without my previous partner,” Karz told row2k.com recently. “The past three months training in Austin have been some of the most brutal months of my life.
“We had five women who pushed each other to the max every day. Without all five of us, we would never have made this happen. It takes a team to make a boat.”
It will be the first appearance in the Olympics for both Karz and Bertko.
Karz lettered for the Beavers from 2009-11 and was OSU's 2011 Most Valuable Oarswoman in her final season. She earned Pac-10 All-Academic honors three times and graduated with a degree in speech communication and minors in Spanish and Chinese. She helped OSU's Varsity 8 to a third place finish at Pac-10 Championships in 2009. That V8 crew qualified to NCAA Championships for the first time since 2000 and took 18th at the national championship regatta.
She is the second OSU women's rower to qualify to the Olympics, joining Amy Martin of Sherman County, Ore. Martin took sixth place in the women's eight in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
“Amy Martin and I were both given a chance at something with the Oregon State women's rowing program, with neither of us having rowed previously,” Karz said. “It was hard work and determination that got us to the Olympic level, but I may have never made it there if OSU rowing hadn't given me a place to start.
“I owe a lot to the coaches, teammates and school for giving me an environment to start striving for something big.”
Karz is the first current or former OSU student-athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games set for Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
NBC will broadcast highlights from the Olympic Trials at 2 p.m. PT Sunday.
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