Bryan Volpenhein
American rower and coach
Biography
Bryan Volpenhein is an American rower born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1976. His connection to food is less known than his sporting career: after the 2005 World Rowing Championships he studied culinary arts at the Art Institute of Seattle, while still continuing to compete until the Beijing Games. His path shows how a high-level athlete can turn to cooking as a second vocation.
He attended Kings High School in Kings Mills, Ohio, and then rowed for the Ohio State University Crew Club, graduating in 2002. He competed at three Summer Olympics. In Sydney in 2000 he finished fifth in the men's eight, in Athens in 2004 he won gold in the same event, and in Beijing in 2008 he took bronze. Between 1998 and 2005 he won five medals at the World Rowing Championships. He was twice named USRowing Male Athlete of the Year, in 2002 and 2004, and is the only rower to have received the award twice.
After his competitive years he moved into coaching. He worked as training and technical director for the men's rowing team at the University of San Diego and as junior men's varsity head coach at the San Diego Rowing Club. In the 2019-2020 season he became head coach of the University of Pennsylvania men's heavyweight team. In August 2022 he stepped down so that his family could relocate to support his wife, Sarah Trowbridge, who had become head coach of the University of Oklahoma women's team. Since June 2024 he has led the men's and women's rowing programs at Oklahoma City University, after a break to care for their two children.
Key contributions
- Gold medal in the men's eight at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the most notable result of his rowing career.
- Bronze in the men's eight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, his last Olympic podium.
- Five medals at the World Rowing Championships between 1998 and 2005.
- Two USRowing Male Athlete of the Year awards, in 2002 and 2004.
- Training in culinary arts at the Art Institute of Seattle after the 2005 World Championships.
- Coaching university rowing programs at Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City and San Diego.