Michael "Mike" Matson (born November 5, 1984) is an American

ocean rower Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. Some ocean rowing boats can hold as many as fourteen rowers; however, the most common ocean rowboats are designed for singles, doubles, and fours. The history of ocean rowing is divided into two ...

and author who holds 2

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

2016 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – American Oarsmen

Michael and fellow

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

Rowing club A rowing club is a club for people interested in the sport of rowing. Rowing clubs are usually near a body of water, either natural or artificial, that is large enough for maneuvering the rowing boats. Clubs usually have a boathouse with racks t ...

coach, David Alviar, entered the 2015

Atlantic Rowing Race The Atlantic Rowing Race is an ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm (2,930 statute miles or 4,700 km). The race was founded in 1997 by Sir Chay Blyth with subsequent races roug ...

(Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge) as an awareness campaign to fund the first rowing boathouse within the

City of Houston Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...

. The duo worked in conjunction with the

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Texas, Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately ...

Partnership and Texas Dragon Boat Association to successfully construct Houston's first boathouse. Their boat was named Anne, in honor of Anne McCormick Sullivan, a firefighter friend of Michael who gave her life in the tragic Southwest Inn fire. Unfortunately, Michael tore his

Patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection whe ...

, and the team delayed to the 2016 race. With the Rice boathouse funded, the team added a third member, Brian Krauskopf, and changed names to the American Oarsmen. The team's crossing was listed as one of the "16 things to look forward to in 2016" according to the Houston Chronicle. The team left

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gomer ...

on December 14, 2016, and arrived at

Nelson's Dockyard Nelson's Dockyard is a cultural heritage site and marina in English Harbour, located in Saint Paul Parish on the Caribbean island of Antigua, in Antigua and Barbuda. It is the only continuously working Georgian era dockyard in the world. It was ...

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

after 49 days, 14 hours, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds at sea. The team interacted with students via satellite phone before and during the crossing. This crossing earned the crew 2 Guinness World Records for being both the (1) First and the (2) Fastest trio (or three-manned rowboat) to cross the Atlantic.

Other information

Michael holds a PhD in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

from

and is the author of

Inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

for Dummies ''For Dummies'' is an extensive series of instructional reference books that strive to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered. The series has been a worldwide success, with editions in numerous languages. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Michael 1984 births Living people American male rowers Ocean rowers Rice University alumni