Simon Carcagno (born March 22, 1976) is an 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 ...

who competed in

lightweight rowing Lightweight rowing (abbreviated Lwt or Lt) is a category of Rowing (sport), rowing where limits are placed on the maximum body weight of competitors. According to the International Rowing Federation (International Rowing Federation, FISA), this we ...

. He won a gold medal in the eights at the

2008 World Rowing Championships The 2008 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 22 to 27 July 2008 in conjunction with the World Rowing Junior Championships, World Junior Rowing Championships in Ottensheim near Linz, Austria. Since Rowing ...

and placed third in the

coxless pair A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each ...

s in 2003. He also won a silver medal in the

coxless four A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

s at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

. He represented the United States as an alternate at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Early life

Simon Carcagno is from

Pennington, New Jersey Pennington is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan Valley region to the northeast. As of the 2020 United St ...

. He graduated with a degree in public policy from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of c ...

in 1998.

Career

Rowing

While a student at Princeton, he was a member of Princeton's rowing team. He joined the rowing team as a walk-on his freshman year and served as co-captain his senior year. He was awarded the Bayard W. Read Class of 1926 Award for most improved athlete over four years. Carcagno was a member of the U.S. National Rowing Team from 2002 until 2008. He represented the United States as an alternate on two Olympic teams, one Pan-Am team, and seven senior national teams. In 2002 Carcagno was part the duo that was the first-ever U.S. finalist lightweight pair at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Carcagno placed third in the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

for lightweight pair. He was also a bronze medalist at the

2003 World Rowing Championships The 2003 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 25 August to 1 September 2003 on the lake Idroscalo at Milan, Italy. The international rowing season usually ends with the World Championship regatta. Apart ...

. In 2004 he placed second in the lightweight pair at the Munich and Lucerne World Cups. He won a silver medal at the

in lightweight four and won the lightweight eight at the 2008 World Championships.

Coaching

He joined the coaching staff as a volunteer men's rowing coach at Princeton in 2002. Also in 2002, Carcagno became a coach at the Mercer Junior Rowing Club in

West Windsor, New Jersey West Windsor is a Township (New Jersey), township in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware River, Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan River ...

. In 2009 he joined the coaching staff at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, first as a volunteer coach, then as an assistant coach in 2014. Prior to leaving Wisconsin in 2015, Carcagno was an associate head coach for the men's rowing team. In 2016 Carcagno joined the rowing staff at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

as the program's boathouse manager. In 2016 he became a volunteer assistant coach for Duke's rowing teams. During Carcagno's first year at Duke, the rowing team qualified for its first

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

appearance and earned second place at the

ACC Championship The ACC Championship was a cancelled two-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council that is contested between its members nations. The first tournament was scheduled to be held in December 2014. It was canceled due to the busy pre ...

. As part of the Duke coaching staff, Carcagno received a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National and Region 3 Staff of the Year accolade.

Personal life

Carcagno is married to Megan Cooke. They have three sons. He obtained a master's degree in sports administration at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carcagno, Simon 1976 births Living people People from Pennington, New Jersey American male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for the United States Duke Blue Devils rowing coaches Princeton Tigers rowers Princeton Tigers rowing coaches Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wisconsin Badgers rowing coaches Rowers at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in rowing 21st-century American sportsmen