Dr. Sara Simmons, a Bradenton orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and wrist surgery, excelled recently at the the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, Spain.
Simmons and Sarasota County Rowing Club (SRC) teammates Jessica Archibald, Jill Veitkus, and Katrin Muff won their age division in the women’s quad sculls on Sept. 13, finishing more than 6 seconds ahead of the second-place boat. Simmons and SRC also finished third in the women’s eight shell and fifth in the 4x and 2x sculls.
The annual four-day regatta is for rowers age 27 and older. SRC, a rowing club for women and men over age 18, is based out of Blackburn Point in Osprey.
“The [regatta] brings a unique challenge, with co-ed crews and boats that span wide age ranges, making the racing both competitive and refreshing,” Simmons said before the competition. “I’m excited for the chance to embrace that spirit in Spain and to celebrate how rowing continues to connect people at every stage of life.”
Simmons, whose practice is based at Coastal Orthopedics, is a veteran of world-class rowing competition. Her career includes a gold medal at the 1995 World Rowing Championships and another gold that year at the U.S. Collegiate Nationals while a senior at Harvard University.
Simmons earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard in 1995 and served under the Massachusetts Arthritis Foundation in the orthopedic gene therapy lab for the Harvard Center for Molecular Orthopaedics. She completed her internship in general surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and received a fellowship at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.
Simmons also volunteers her medical expertise on a regular basis during rowing events at Nathan Benderson Park, including serving earlier this year as deputy medical director for the Big Ten Women’s Rowing Invitational Regatta.
“At this stage in my rowing journey, it’s really about having fun and enjoying the sport I love without the pressure of elite competition,” Simmons said. “It’s a lot of hard work. The training camps, the hours of training and the cutting weight. Some people are better suited for that. One of my boatmates made it as a spare in the 2000 Olympics.”
Submitted by Kate Ritz De Michieli with staff report