Row, row, row your boat right into the life of Harriet Metcalf! Read about the Olympic medalist and MIT coach here!
Reigning from Providence, Rhode Island, Harriet “Holly” Metcalf was born in March 1958. Metcalf is currently the head coach for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) women’s rowing team, but this is not where her career took off.
During her educational journey, Metcalf attended Mount Holyoke College, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and English. Additionally, she attended Harvard University to earn her master’s in risk and prevention as well as a certificate in the advanced study of human development and psychology.
Soon after, Metcalf became a World Championship medalist for the United States. Throughout 1981 and 1987, she earned three silver medals and one bronze medal. In 1984, she won an Olympic gold medal at the Los Angeles Summer Games. In this same year, she was the recipient of a place in the U.S. Rowing Hall of Fame and the Maine Hall of Fame. Holly Metcalf directed the silver medal team in the 1990 World Championships, too. In 2003, Metcalf was on the National Gay and Lesbian Athletics Conference panel of LGBTQ Olympians.
The list of awards that Holly Metcalf has won is long; 1993, she won the Peter F. Drucker Award; 1997, Boston Magazine’s Top 50 Most Intriguing Woman; 1998, New England Hero Award and Girl Scouts of America Leading Woman; 1999, YWCA Outstanding Woman, New England Women’s Leadership Award, USRowing Woman of the Year and New England Women’s Sports Hall of Fame; 2004, RYKA First Women of Fitness Award; 2008, US Rowing Woman of the Year; 2017, Patriot League Coach of the Year and 2024 U.S. Rowing Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the highest honor in the rowing community.
The most recent rowing season, 2025-26, marks Metcalf’s 19th season with the MIT Engineers’ openweight women’s team. According to MIT’s rowing site, “…every year under Metcalf the team has earned Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA for its exceptional academic performance.” Beginning her head coaching career in 2007, Metcalf has been an admirable inspiration to her rowers and the rowing community overall.
Harriet Metclf has used rowing as an escape, while also inviting those to join the Row As One Institute. This provides women with top-notch skills and the opportunity to practice and play. Here, there was a top-level coaching staff. Metcalf has used rowing to impact the lives of many women, offering a lot of non-profit programs. In 1996, the G-ROW program was founded, bringing inner-city girls into the sport. Six years later, she founded WeCanRow, which is a rehabilitation organization geared towards female survivors of cancer.
Harriet Metcalf continues to be an empowering female in the world of athletics. As an Olympian, a World Champion, a coach, and an entrepreneur, Metcalf has made her mark on the world!