{"id":82177,"date":"2021-07-26T10:28:44","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T14:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=82177"},"modified":"2022-07-27T15:10:47","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T19:10:47","slug":"kristen-thorsness-olympic-rower","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2021\/kristen-thorsness-olympic-rower\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-secondary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1304\" height=\"1684\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2.jpeg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Kristen Thorsness (&#039;89) won two gold medals in rowing at the 1984 Summer Olympics\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2.jpeg 1304w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-492x636.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-793x1024.jpeg 793w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-768x992.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-1189x1536.jpeg 1189w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-640x826.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-528x682.jpeg 528w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-799x1032.jpeg 799w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-1023x1321.jpeg 1023w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-266x344.jpeg 266w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-410x529.jpeg 410w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-533x688.jpeg 533w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-819x1058.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-1056x1364.jpeg 1056w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-1279x1652.jpeg 1279w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-2-774x1000.jpeg 774w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1304px) 100vw, 1304px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photos curtesy of Kristen J. Thorsness<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Olympics<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeak Performance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Kristen J. Thorsness (\u201989) competed in two Olympics as a rower after being admitted to BU Law. She won gold in 1984 and went on to a career as a civil litigator.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">July 26, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/rebecca-beyer\/\">Rebecca Beyer<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-default has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-quaternary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>When Kristen J. Thorsness (\u201989) was studying at Boston University School of Law, one of her favorite professors was the late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2018\/bu-school-of-law-remembers-professor-mark-pettit-jr\/\">Mark Pettit Jr.<\/a>, well known among generations of students for his enthusiastic teaching style, which included law-themed parodies of musical numbers designed to impart the finer points of contracts law.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarright\"><figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Kristen J. Thorsness ('89), former Olympic rower turned litigator\" class=\"wp-image-82212\" width=\"300\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-454x636.jpg 454w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-590x826.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-487x682.jpg 487w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-246x344.jpg 246w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-378x529.jpg 378w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-headshot-491x688.jpg 491w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>Kristen J. Thorsness (&#8217;89), two-time Olympic rower turned litigator<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe was quite deservedly much loved,\u201d Thorsness remembers. \u201cHe was a great teacher, and I certainly used what I learned in his classes in my career as a civil litigator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Thorsness also has immense appreciation for a group of people less likely to inspire\u2014although no less deserving of\u2014praise: the staff of BU Law\u2019s Registrar office. That\u2019s because the members of that department gave Thorsness every opportunity to accomplish two of her life goals: graduating from law school and competing in the Olympics as a member of the US rowing team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Thorsness qualified for the 1984 Olympics, which were scheduled to end just a few weeks before her first semester of law school, the registrar informed her of the ability to defer her admission for a year. When Thorsness needed to miss several weeks of her 3L fall classes and the entirety of her final semester to train with her teammates for the 1988 Olympics, the registrar smoothed that process as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have a great fondness for the people in the Registrar\u2019s office,\u201d Thorsness says, laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not as though Thorsness was given any special treatment\u2014she completed those fall semester exams in January of 1988 before rejoining her teammates in February and returned to BU Law in 1989 to finish her degree. But she recalls the Registrar\u2019s office doing everything they could to ensure her leave of absence would be granted. She remembers a staff member leaning over the counter one day to tell her there had been at least one other BU Law student who took a leave of absence to compete in the Olympics (two possibilities are: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2021\/thomas-burke-first-olympic-gold\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thomas Burke<\/a> (Class of 1897), who took a leave and won gold medals in the 100-meter and 400-meter dash for the first modern Olympic games, which took place in Athens in 1896; <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1927\/08\/14\/archives\/new-olympic-head-must-be-selected-death-of-william-c-prout-leaves.html\" target=\"_blank\">and William C. Prout<\/a> (Class of 1910), future president of what became the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who ran the quarter-mile and 400-meter events in the 1908 Olympics in London).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe said, \u2018We\u2019ve been doing research,\u2019\u201d Thorsness remembers. \u201c\u2018You know how those lawyers are about precedent.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thorsness\u2014who grew up in Alaska and studied political science and women\u2019s studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she was a national champion rower\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/alaskasportshall.org\/inductee\/kristen-thorsness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than delivered on her end of the bargain<\/a>. She was a member of the US National and Olympic Rowing team from 1982 through 1988, winning three World Championship silver medals and a gold medal at the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles. She was also a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/about\/offices\/registrar\/curricular-requirements\/grades-honors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paul J. Liacos Scholar<\/a> at BU Law and won an American Jurisprudence Award for her work in an admiralty and maritime law class. Then, she went on to a diverse career in public and private practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thorsness says she loved competing at the highest levels of her sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPerspective is a funny thing,\u201d she adds. \u201cWhen you\u2019re surrounded by a bunch of people who are doing the same thing you are, it doesn\u2019t feel that extraordinary. But I loved helping the boat go fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"805\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1024x805.jpeg\" alt=\"Kristen J. Thorsness ('89) with her 1984 Olympic rowing teammates\" class=\"wp-image-82179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1024x805.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-636x500.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-768x603.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1536x1207.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1051x826.jpeg 1051w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-868x682.jpeg 868w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1314x1032.jpeg 1314w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1681x1321.jpeg 1681w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-438x344.jpeg 438w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-673x529.jpeg 673w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-876x688.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1347x1058.jpeg 1347w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1736x1364.jpeg 1736w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1-1273x1000.jpeg 1273w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/07\/Thorsness-Kris-1984-Olympics-1.jpeg 1955w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-caption\">Kristen Thorsness (&#8217;89) at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She adds that the lessons and skills she learned as a rower and aspiring lawyer complemented each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-bu-clicktotweet has-format-highlight\"><span class=\"wp-block-bu-clicktotweet-content\"><span class=\"wp-block-bu-clicktotweet-highlight\">\u201cBeing an elite athlete\u2014any athlete\u2014and having the level of focus and dedication that requires really fits in nicely with being a lawyer,\u201d Thorsness says. \u201cI transitioned pretty seamlessly from one high-intensity pursuit to another. It worked out really well.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thorsness\u2019 career and athletic paths were well aligned. She chose BU Law because Boston was one of the cities where she could train with the national team and because she was \u201ca big fan of Barbara Jordan,\u201d a 1959 graduate who was the first African American woman elected to Congress from the South. The school\u2019s location on the Charles River was a major plus; Thorsness got up at 5 am most days to bike to the Harvard or Radcliffe boathouses where practice began at 6. After breakfast, she attended classes and then went back for a second workout. The next day, she\u2019d do it all over again. Sometimes, she ran the stairs of the law tower as part of her training. She was the school\u2019s \u201cpet Olympian,\u201d she says, noting the incredible support she received from professors, classmates, and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thorsness says being an athlete helped her land her first job at an international law firm in San Francisco. The managing partner pointed out that Thorsness had posed with President Reagan wearing her gold medal and wondered if she was prepared for the more mundane tasks of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI said, \u2018I train twice a day, six days a week, year-round for a single minutes-long race; I understand drudgery,\u2019\u201d Thorsness remembers. \u201cHe told me later that\u2019s what got me the offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thorsness isn\u2019t after fame in her career either; she prefers the behind-the-scenes, strategic work of litigation to actual trials. Her proudest professional moments, including during stints in county counsels\u2019 offices in California and New York, have involved getting cases dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat was always my focus from the day a complaint was filed,\u201d she explains. \u201cAll of my discovery went toward setting the case up for dismissal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2016, after a couple of health scares, Thorsness tried to retire from the law. She took a job at LL Bean, teaches at Finger Lakes Community College, and became a court-appointed referee to oversee occasional residential foreclosure proceedings. But last year, her older brother, who runs a firm in Anchorage, asked her to step in when a more junior attorney left without much notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNow he calls me his associate,\u201d Thorsness laughs. \u201cBut we have a lot of fun working together. We joke that being a lawyer is a genetic defect in our family. It\u2019s one of the few socially acceptable pursuits that are well suited for our personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside of the law, Thorsness remains very involved in the world of sport. She has been a US Rowing Association referee since 2004 and this year was named to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee\u2019s Trial Administrative Board, which handles disputes about compliance, and the Games Administration Board, which adjudicates appeals from disciplinary actions for athlete conduct during the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cRowing was really good to me,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt changed my life. I feel it\u2019s really important that I give back to the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHe was quite deservedly much loved,\u201d Thorsness remembers. \u201cHe was a great teacher, and I certainly used what I learned in his classes in my career as a civil litigator.\u201d But Thorsness also has immense appreciation for a group of people less likely to inspire\u2014although no less deserving of\u2014praise: the staff of BU Law\u2019s Registrar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11260,"featured_media":82179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"{\"post_id\":78484,\"hed\":\"First Olympic Gold\",\"dek\":\"Next Article\",\"class\":\"wp-block-editorial-billboard record-block-editorial-billboard is-style-accent-photo has-dark-overlay has-media\",\"backgroundId\":\"78489\",\"backgroundUrl\":\"\\\/law\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/Thomas-Burke-and-BAA-Olympic-Team-1896-970x456.jpg\",\"backgroundType\":\"image\",\"backgroundOpacity\":\"100\"}","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":"Olympics"},"tags":[4137,3862],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3918,3744,3786],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82177"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93659,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82177\/revisions\/93659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82177"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=82177"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=82177"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=82177"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=82177"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=82177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}