Natalie Mastracci did not have to wonder if the sacrifice was worth it.

Leaving Syracuse was going to be a major change in her life. But to achieve her Olympic dream, it was a reality she accepted.

“There is only one question you ever have to ask yourself in the world,” Mastracci said addressing the audience. “Is it worth it?”

“I could only think of one answer. It was ‘yes.’”

Hundreds gathered in the Life Sciences auditorium on Wednesday night to see Syracuse University senior and Olympic silver medalist Natalie Mastracci speak about her decision to leave SU to pursue her dream of competing in the Olympics. It was a part of SU’s Women in Sports and Events (WISE). Mastracci competed at the 2012 London Olympics as a member of the Canadian National Team’s women’s eight-boat.

She captivated the audience with an enthusiastic demeanor. Her smile remained even as she talked about the hardship of breaking two of her ribs in the span of less than a year.

Mastracci said she was approached by one of the Canadian national coaches who told her if she wanted to reach the Olympics, she was going to have to leave Syracuse.

So Mastracci packed everything up and moved to a Canadian training center, where she would eat, breathe and sleep rowing. All the women training for the Olympics in rowing lived there, and even though they were all chasing one dream, there wasn’t much of a sense of camaraderie.

“They are very strict about everything and they like things done a certain way,” Mastracci said. “So a new person coming in, they might not be all that excited about it. They might view you as a little bit of a threat.”

Mastracci was in great shape to earn a spot on Canada’s eight-person team. She participated in the qualifiers that had allowed Canada to compete. Unfortunately, she found herself with the second broken rib of her career in February, just months before the Games.

When she came back she raced against the top rowers to gauge her ability to come back from the injury. She quickly realized she wasn’t the fastest anymore. As a result, she earned a spot as the replacement rower. It was a position that wasn’t optimal, but one she could accept.

“I can respect the fact that all of those eight women did amazing things over the year,” Mastracci said. “I watched them, and they deserved to be in that boat.”

The only reason she made the boat was because one of the rowers who was supposed to be competing also suffered a rib injury. This opened up a spot only a week before the games were slated to begin. It was an opportunity Mastracci wouldn’t let pass her by.

“The night before that race, I thought to myself, ‘What is it that I could have done to be better?’” Mastracci said.

When she thought about it, she realized there was nothing she could have done differently.

After winning the medal, Mastracci only had a few days to enroll back at Syracuse. She said she had to write several essays to explain why she deserved to be granted eligibility. Her appeal to be re-accepted was rejected several times, but she was eventually granted a sixth year.

Mastracci is now currently finishing up her senior year and is back rowing with SU.

Her teammates, who also attended the event, were excited to applaud the star their friend has become.

“It’s really awesome to have her back on the team,” senior rower Macey Miller said. “She can really teach us a lot, having an Olympic athlete on our team.”

Published on November 8, 2012 at 1:02 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3