Mike Vespoli
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Michael Louis Vespoli (born December 14, 1946) is a former American
rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...
and rowing coach. He is the founder and chief executive officer of
Vespoli Vespoli USA is a manufacturer of rowing shells. It was founded by former Georgetown University rower and Olympian Mike Vespoli in 1980. History The company’s origins date back to the late 1970s when Mike Vespoli was the freshman rowing co ...
USA, Inc., a boat manufacturer in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, that makes shells for rowers. Vespoli was born in New Haven, Connecticut.


Career

His career in rowing started in 1964 when he joined the
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
crew as a walk-on. He went on to row on a team that placed in the
1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
. He later was a
sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its ...
coach for the
1980 Olympics The 1980 Olympics may refer to: * 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, United States * 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), wer ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Vespoli started his company with the help of his retired machinist father in 1980 in New Haven. His wife, Nancy Vespoli, who was on the women's crew at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic rowing crew, is also involved in the business.


Coaching career

* 1968 to 1972,
Saint Joseph's Preparatory School St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joe's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Society of Jesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was founded in 1851 ...
* 1972 to 1974,
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
* 1974 to 1977,
Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
* 1977 to 1980,
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...


U.S. National Team

* 1979, Head Coach, U.S. Lightweight Men; Silver Medal * 1980, Assistant Coach, U.S. Heavyweight Men Sculling Coach Johnson coached Vespoli at Georgetown from 1967 to 1969. Johnson was the assistant coach and Vespoli an oarsman on the 1972 U.S. Olympic Crew. Johnson recommended Vespoli for the
Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
position, and Johnson hired Vespoli as Yale's Frosh Men's Coach in 1977. In 2000, Vespoli was honored with the Power Ten award. Mike and Nancy Vespoli established the Vespoli Family Crew Scholarship at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
in 2003.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vespoli, Mike 1946 births Living people American male rowers Georgetown Hoyas rowers UMass Minutemen and Minutewomen rowing coaches Wichita State Shockers rowing coaches Yale Bulldogs rowing coaches World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States Congressional Gold Medal recipients Olympic rowers for the United States Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in rowing Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen