Monika Havelka did not start her athletic career as a rower, but rather as a basketball player. Playing for Cal State Long Beach from 1974-78, she became the first hoopster to score 1,000 points for that school, and was inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame in 1987. She played on four national championships AAU teams, won a silver medal on the US team at the 1977 Universiade, and then played professionally overseas for a few years. When she returned to the US, Havelka took up rowing, winning a gold medal in the doubles at the 1983 Pan-American Games, partnered with Anne Marden. She competed three times at the World Championships, winning a gold medal in the doubles in 1982 with Robin Reardan, a bronze in the 1985 quad sculls, and she was an alternate with the eights in 1987.
United States