Port Moody's Krista Guloien was a member of the Canadian women's quad (fours) sculls rowing crew that finished a respectable eighth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
She and her three teammates are hoping to garner a higher spot at the 2012 London Olympics.
Guloien, 32, first took up rowing in 2001 when she began working on her criminology degree at SFU. "I fell in love with rowing after my first practice," Guloien said on canadianathletesnow.ca. "I think I started to dream as soon as I started rowing. I associated rowing with the Olympics due to the rowing greats we have here in Canada, [like] Marnie McBean and Silken Laumann."
After making the Canadian national team in 2006, she moved to London, Ont. to be closer to the squad's training grounds and focus on quad sculls.
Guloien has competed in five world championships, winning back-to-back silver medals in the women's eights in 2010 and 2011. Previously, at the 2006 and 2007 Worlds, Guloien was part of Canada's fifth-place team in the coxless fours and quad sculls respectively.
A Port Moody secondary school grad, the New Westminster-born Guloien comes from a family replete with talent. Her sister, Leah, is a professional road cyclist on the North American circuit while another sister, Marla, is an executive producer, recording artist and graphics designer.
But Guloein said there's no question who's been her biggest inspiration throughout her career.
"My parents are the most supportive and loving people in my life," she said. "They have different perspectives and strengths, and have taught me how to be patient, dedicated and go for what I want."
Heats in the women's quad sculls at the London Olympics go tomorrow (Saturday).
